The ongoing feud within the Congress over the chief minister's chair in Karnataka showed up directly in Bengaluru on Tuesday, as CM Siddaramaiah lost his cool when some young wing members started raising slogans in favour of his deputy and intra-party rival DK Shivakumar during a marquee rally of the party.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, besides the party's national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, state ministers, MPs and legislators, took part in the protest condemning the BJP-led Centre for replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new scheme, Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G).
But the rally saw internal wrangling just as the CM rose from his chair to address the gathering. Youth Congress workers started shouting "DK, DK", growing louder and louder as Siddaramaiah reached the podium to deliver his speech, news agency PTI reported.
Visibly annoyed, Siddaramaiah shouted at the men, asking them to keep quiet. They did not heed.
"Who are those shouting ‘DK, DK’?" an angry Siddaramaiah asked the Congress leaders around him, with DK very much present. In fact, there was bonhomie on show otherwise as the two leaders appeared to share some rapport on stage.
{{/usCountry}}"Who are those shouting ‘DK, DK’?" an angry Siddaramaiah asked the Congress leaders around him, with DK very much present. In fact, there was bonhomie on show otherwise as the two leaders appeared to share some rapport on stage.
{{/usCountry}}Videos of the slogan-shouting and CM's reaction went viral, though, and were shared with critical comments by former party leader Rohan Gupta, who is now with the BJP, among others.
The compere then told the crowd, “Youth Congress leaders should keep quiet. The chief minister is addressing. We know who you are. Listen to the CM silently.” The news agency did not report any reaction from DK as such.
Rohan Gupta, in his caption in Hindi with the clip, said: “In Bengaluru, the Congress stage once again turned into an arena for the battle over the chair... This is no public movement; it's a power struggle within Congress, where neither the people nor development matter. Due to internal clashes, Congress is heading toward destroying itself.”
The ruling Congress in Karnataka has been a witness to the power tussle between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar; and several party MLAs and MLCs have lobbied on behalf of the deputy CM.
The claim is that he was promised half the term as CM, which would have started in November. The party has made them hold breakfast and lunch meetings with each other, and both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have said they would abide by the high command’s decision.
Siddaramaiah has also said he has full faith that he would complete the five-year term.