Siddaramaiah takes oath as Karnataka chief minister, DK Shivakumar as deputy CM
During the first cabinet meeting of the newly-formed government, a decision was made to fulfil the five guarantees promised to voters in the Congress party’s election manifesto
Siddaramaiah took oath as the chief minister of Karnataka for the second time on Saturday following the party’s resounding victory in the recently concluded assembly elections. Accompanying him, DK Shivakumar was sworn in as the cabinet minister and has been designated as the state’s sole deputy chief minister.
The oath-taking ceremony commenced about ten minutes later than the scheduled time of 12:30pm. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar expressed their gratitude and support by waving at the sea of supporters and extending greetings to the VVIPs and ministers in attendance. At around 12:40pm, Siddaramaiah officially assumed the position of the new chief minister of Karnataka.
In contrast to his 2013 oath, where Siddaramaiah pledged his commitment to truth, this time, he and most of his ministers took their oaths in the name of God, emphasizing their dedication to serving the state’s interests. Among the eight ministers sworn in on this day, G Parameshwara deviated from the norm by taking an oath in the name of the Constitution, while Santosh Jarkiholi pledged his allegiance to social reformers such as Buddha, Basavanna, and Ambedkar.
Also Read: Siddaramaiah’s swearing-in ceremony turns into a show of strength for opposition parties
The remaining ministers sworn in were K H Muniyappa, M B Patil, K J George, Ramalinga Reddy, Priyank Kharge, and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.
During the first cabinet meeting of the newly-formed government, a decision was made to fulfil the five guarantees promised to voters in the Congress party’s election manifesto.
Shortly after taking office, Siddaramaiah expressed his commitment to delivering the administration that people have long anticipated. “We will give an administration which people have expected from us. Five guarantees will be passed in the cabinet meeting and an order will be issued to implement them today itself,” Siddaramaiah said.
These guarantees include providing stipends to the unemployed, granting ₹2,000 to women heads of families, offering 200 units of free electricity, enabling free bus travel for women, and distributing 10 kilograms of rice to the underprivileged, aiming to alleviate the burden of rising prices.
The swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah became a demonstration of opposition strength as prominent leaders from opposition political parties gathered in Bengaluru.
Notable figures from the Congress party, including party leader Rahul Gandhi, party leader Priyanka Gandhi, and party national president Mallikarjun Kharge, were present at the occasion. Chief ministers from Congress-ruled states, such as Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin also attended the event.
Apart from them, former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti from Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Singh, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India leader D Raja, and Sharad Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party, were also present at the function.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, senior Congress leaders took the stage to address the crowd gathered at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium individually. Rahul Gandhi attributed their victory to their alliance with the poor, Dalits, Adivasis, and backward communities.
“After Congress’s victory, many things were written as to how Congress won this election, different analyses were done but I want to say that Congress won because we stood with the poor, Dalits, Adivasis, and backwards. We had the truth. BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] had money, police and everything but the people of Karnataka defeated all their powers,” said Rahul.
Kharge took the opportunity to criticise prime minister Narendra Modi’s decision to withdraw the ₹2,000 currency notes, claiming that such actions only caused difficulties for the people. “Whenever he (Modi) goes to Japan, he issues a notification of demonetisation. The last time when he went to Japan, he demonetised ₹1,000 notes. This time he has demonetised the ₹2,000 note…. The Modi government is just causing problems for the people,” he said.
Also Read: PM Modi congratulates Siddaramaiah on becoming Karnataka chief minister
Meanwhile, PM Modi congratulated Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on assuming their respective roles in the newly formed government in the state. In a tweet, he extended his best wishes for a productive tenure. “Congratulations to Shri @siddaramaiah Ji on taking oath as Karnataka CM and Shri @DKShivakumar Ji on taking oath as Deputy CM. My best wishes for a fruitful tenure,” the PM wrote on Twitter.
Outgoing chief minister Basavaraj Bommai also congratulated his successor Siddaramaiah and the cabinet members for their assumption of office. “Heartiest congratulations to Siddaramaiah for assuming the office as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka and his cabinet members,” the BJP leader wrote on Twitter.
Several popular actors and celebrities, including veteran superstar and chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam Kamal Haasan, actor Duniya Vijay, Shiva Rajkumar, a popular Kannada actor whose wife recently joined the Congress, also attended the swearing-in ceremony.
After the swearing-in, CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar proceeded to the Vidhan Soudha, with Shivakumar seen touching the steps of the state assembly building with his forehead as a mark of reverence.