Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 29 : Even as Karnataka CM Siddaramiah and his Deputy DK Shivakumar held a breakfast meeting to resolve the states leadership crisis, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara threw his hat in the ring claiming that some people even wanted to see him as CM and that it is up to the Congress high command in Delhi to resolve the issues.
In an interaction with ANI, the Karnataka Home Minister, commenting on the DK Shivakumar-Siddaramaiah tussle, asserted that the aspirations of the people cannot be stopped.
"...Somebody wants DK Shivakumar as chief minister, somebody wants Siddaramaiah to continue, and somebody wants me to be the chief minister, and somebody wants somebody else. So you cannot stop the aspirations of the people. Every time there is a talk about the Chief Minister, whether after the election or somewhere in between, Dalits express their aspirations. There is nothing wrong with it. I don't think it is wrong. It is up to the high command. All these developments are definitely watched by the high command. They take note of these developments, and they'll resolve them..." said G Parameshwara.
Meanwhile, Karnataka, CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar met each other 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.
But CM Siddharamaiah has maintained his stance.
"The high command has called both of us, so I have invited him (DK Shivakumar) for breakfast, and we will talk there. As I said earlier, I will accept whatever the high command says; there is no change in my stand. Even he (DK Shivakumar) said that whatever the high command says we'll follow that..." Siddaramaiah said earlier on Friday.
Shivakumar, in turn, has reiterated his loyalty to the Congress and said that the party high command will take any decision regarding leadership in the Congress-led state government.
Congress is likely to discuss the crisis with the central leaders after the party's strategy group meeting ahead of the winter session of Parliament on November 30.
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 high command, led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, is expected to make a decision soon. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have expressed willingness to abide by the party's decision. The tussle, fueled by the "power-sharing agreement" of 2023 between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, has pushed each side's loyalists to lobby for their leaders' claims to the state's top post.