Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 29 : Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy on Saturday said that the ongoing leadership tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is a Congress party issue, asserting that nobody outside the party is concerned with its internal problems.
Speaking to ANI, Narayanaswamy alleged that the Congress government has failed to deliver any development to the people of Karnataka.
"Leadership change is their party's problem. It is not connected with the people of Karnataka. People have given the Congress a five-year mandate to rule the state, but they have not given anything to the people... There is no development at all. The farmers are fighting for their problems, and even Dalits have been cheated by the Congress. Nobody is interested in the Congress' internal problems..." Narayanaswamy told ANI.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly and BJP MLA R Ashoka claimed that there was no coordination between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and it was unclear who was the current Chief Minister.
Speaking to ANI, R Ashoka said, "This is a crucial stage in Karnataka politics. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar are engaged in a street fight. The Congress High Command is weak. The demand of DK Shivakumar is the implementation of the 2.5-year power-sharing rule but Siddaramaiah is not leaving. In the last one year, there has been no development, and there is no coordination between the CM and Deputy CM. Ministers are not coming to Vidhana Soudha. Some MLAs went to Delhi, and more than 12 to 13 MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru. We don't know who the CM is. Siddaramaiah is not CM now."
Ashoka added that the NDA would hold a meeting on Saturday, with speculation that the opposition may seek a confidence vote during the next assembly session.
"Today, there is a Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP meeting. HD Kumaraswamy and BJP's BY Vijayendra will attend. There are several issues," he added.
Earlier, CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar met for breakfast on Saturday, intending to get closer to resolving the ongoing power crisis within the party. Following his breakfast meet, Shivakumar will travel to Delhi to meet the party's high command, including chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar is pushing for a leadership change, citing a "secret agreement" among senior leaders that he should take over as CM after 2.5 years. The tussle is fuelled by the 2023 "power-sharing agreement" between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, which has pushed each side's loyalists to lobby for their leaders' claims to the state's top post.