No leadership change in Karnataka, clear signal from Congress high command: MLC Yathindra

Expressing confidence about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah completing the full five years at the helm in Karnataka, his son and MLC Yathindra claimed that the Congress high command had sent a clear signal that there will be no change of leadership in the State.

“The high command has sent a clear signal that there will not be a change of leadership in Karnataka even if it has not explicitly said so. I believe he (Siddaramaiah) will remain the Chief Minister for the full five year term,” Mr. Yathindra told reporters in Mysuru on February 6.

Mr Yathindra said there is no discussion about leadership change in political circles. The matter may be discussed only in the media, he said before adding that Mr Siddaramaiah’s continuation as Chief Minister was a ‘settled issue’.

Elaborating, Mr. Yathindra said there were no demands for removal of Mr. Siddaramaiah from the post. The Congress high command has not given weightage to the demand for his replacement. “So, he will remain the Chief Minister for the full five-year term,” he said while adding that there was no confusion in the party about the matter.

Mr Yathindra said there were other issues in the State that were begging for attention, and cited the upcoming budget. He said issues like financial situation of the State, like insufficient revenue inflow and the denial of Central allocations, need attention. 

To a question on the charge that his involvement in the Energy Department had upset Energy Minister K. J. George, Mr. Yathindra said, “Mr. George had issued a clarification in the matter.”

Claiming that his name had been unnecessarily dragged into the issue, Mr. Yathindra said the opposition was dragging his name into the matter as they did not have any issue against the Chief Minister or the government.

MUDA sites

On the alleged MUDA scam, Mr. Yathindra said his mother Parvathi was happy that the special court in Bengaluru had accepted the ‘B’ report submitted by the Lokayukta police.

When asked if there would be any move to reclaim the MUDA sites that his mother had surrendered, Mr. Yathindra said his mother had not thought about the matter yet, and pointed out that the issue was not yet over with the complainant planning to file an appeal in the High Court of Karnataka.