Action cannot be taken without direction from Delhi: K’taka Dy CM Shivakumar on suspending 2 leaders
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that there was nothing personal in the action taken against the two minority leaders of his party for anti-party activities, as action ‘cannot be taken without direction from Delhi’.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Friday, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, “There is nothing personal in the action taken against minority leaders. The party has its own report. When action is initiated against a sitting MLA or MLC, it cannot be done at our level without direction from Delhi.”
“We have to act based on guidance. They may blame me, but I don’t bother about such accusations. We have to work under party discipline,” he said.
Responding to questions about whether the development sends a wrong signal to the minority community, he said, “The Congress party exists to deliver justice to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, farmers, OBCs, and minorities.”
When asked about reports of differences between him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said, “You (media) must be crazy. We speak and discuss matters every day. You talk about my camp — where does my camp exist? Has anyone put up a nameplate saying they belong to the Siddaramaiah camp? All 139 MLAs are my legislators, and they are Siddaramaiah’s legislators too. There are no camps between us.”
“The media keeps talking about Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah camps. Do you actually know which MLA belongs to which group? There are no contradictions within the party. All 139 MLAs belong to one group — the Congress group.”
It can be recalled that, in a major development, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee suspended Member of the Legislative Council Abdul Jabbar from the primary membership of the party on Wednesday for engaging in anti-party activities.
Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar had signed the suspension order.
The letter stated: “Abdul Jabbar, Member of the Legislative Council, is hereby suspended from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress with immediate effect, in view of his anti-party activities during the recent by-election in the Davanagere South Assembly constituency.”
Abdul Jabbar was heading the state party’s Minority Wing and had earlier been asked to resign from the post. After accepting his resignation, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar dissolved the Minority Wing. Abdul Jabbar was also aspiring to contest from the Davanagere South Assembly seat as the Congress candidate.
It may be noted that Congress Member of the Legislative Council Naseer Ahmad was also relieved of his position as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Political Advisor on April 14 for similar reasons.
It can also be recalled that leaders from the Muslim community expressed outrage on Thursday, objecting to the action against MLCs Abdul Jabbar and Naseer Ahmad over alleged anti-party activities during the bypolls. Alleging bias by the party, they warned the ruling Congress leadership of consequences.