Governance in Karnataka has come to a screeching halt, courtesy, the infighting between CM Siddaramaiah & Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. Their infighting has turned into a mud-slinging match, with each side not hesitating from hitting its opponent below the belt.
When the state should have been discussing development, both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are preparing chargesheets against each other that they propose to put before the party high command, whenever it decides to take up the matter.
Ever since CM Siddaramaiah led Congress government in Karnataka completed 2.5 years in office, the animosity between the CM & Deputy CM has come out in public with the latter seeking a change of guard as per an alleged agreement between the two that took place when Congress assumed power in the state.
The charge sheets make an interesting piece of reading. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has questioned the very credibility of DK Shivakumar vis-à-vis Congress. He has argued that Shivakumar is not reliable. He particularly referred to DK Shivakumar taking a holy dip in the Ganges during Prayagraj Mahakumbh, which he said was never supported by the Congress high command.
Secondly, he accused Shivakumar of sharing dias with Senior BJP leader Amit Shah during the Isha Foundation programme in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in Feb 2025. And thirdly, Siddaramaiah asserts that Shivakumar’s recent act of reciting the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s Anthem -Namaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume was certainly not in line with Congress ideology.
DK Shivakumar too has bared it all. He argues that Siddaramiah is not a die hard Congress man and has his origins in Janata Parivar, referring to Chief Minister’s long association with HD Devagowda’s Janata Dal (Secular). He said Siddaramiah has been constantly favouring those politicians in Congress that came along with him to Congress from Janata Dal in 2006. Shivakumar has even questioned Siddaramaih’s role in the infamous MUDA scam in the state.
So while Shivakumar has upped his ante, Siddaramaiah is not ready to give up too. He has adopted a strategy of “tooth for tooth” & not ready to quit under any circumstances. He even promptly replied to the “Word Power” post of Shivakumar by reminding him of the welfare schemes started by his government.
Shivakumar had in a strongly worded post, on Thursday morning, tried to remind party high command of the promise made to him on the chief ministership. He wrote- “Word power is world power. The biggest force in the world was to keep one’s word. Be it a judge, president, or anyone else, including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is world power.”
Though after much of the furore, Shivakumar even denied tweeting such a post, but Siddaramaiah took it personally. And at around 6.39 pm on the same day, Siddaramaiah too took to ‘X’, claiming that he had delivered what he had promised to the people of Karnataka. “A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people,” Siddaramaiah posted on ‘X’. He specifically referred to five guarantee schemes & his resolve to continue as CM for full five years.
“The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years. The Congress party, including me, is walking the talk for our people with compassion, consistency, and courage. Our Word to Karnataka is not a slogan, it means the World to us”, CM further said on X.
Interestingly, while war of words refuses to die down, the Congress high command is finding itself helpless in front of two senior Congress leaders washing the dirty linen in public. Rahul Gandhi is still to convene a meeting on such an important matter.
On the other hand, NDA’s leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi too was in Karnataka today, where he held a mega road show in Udupi. A huge crowd gathered all along the route to greet the PM, who in Udupi also visited the 800-year-old Sri Krishna Math.
The people of Karnataka are definitely watching.
