Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation to Prabhushankar, Special Secretary to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on May 28. The Governor left for Indore, in Madhya Pradesh on May 27, for personal reasons. He was expected to return on May 28.
Mr. Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that his resignation would be accepted by the governor soon after he returns to Lok Bhavan.
He maintained that it was the responsibility of the governor to accept the resignation once it is submitted and make way for the next chief minister to assume office.
Karnataka politics LIVE
Soon after submitting his resignation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recollected the famous lines of Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar who used to refer to his fans as ‘abhimani devaru’ (fan gods) to express his respect and gratitude to them.
“I am a politician. Constitution is my religion, and voters are my abhimani devaru (fan gods),” the CM said.
He thanked former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, and his colleagues in the party for giving him the opportunity to serve as chief minister of Karnataka.
Walk down memory lane
Going down memory lane, he said he was an ‘accidental politician’, with none in the family being in politics. He cited his rural background and recollected his journey in politics, from a member of the taluk panchayat, to minister, Deputy CM, Leader of Opposition, and chief minister (2013-18 and 2023-26).
In 2006, he said senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel (now deceased) got him to meet Sonia Gandhi and enabled his entry to the Congress.
“I have always believed in the ideals of ‘Buddha, Basava and Ambedkar’, and that wealth needs to be redistributed among all sections of society. I believe we need to create an equal society where all sections get equal opportunity. Both governments I have led have strived to ensure equal opportunities.”
He said that the Bhagya schemes of his earlier tenure (2013-18), and the guarantees of the present one, reflect his views on the matter.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has given importance to social justice, said, “Because of lack of equal opportunities, there are inequalities in society. To get rid of it, everyone should get equal opportunities.” Hence, the governments led by him in 2013 and in 2023 had made honest efforts to ensure that everyone in society gets such equal opportunities, he said.
“In 2013, we had given 168 promises, of which we have delivered 158 promises. In the manifesto for 2023, we had over 550 promises, of which we have delivered on 300 of them so far. Apart from that, we had announced five guarantee schemes, on which we have delivered. Till now, we have spent over ₹1.4 lakh crore on guarantee schemes till now.”
He brought up this issue in the press conference to emphasise that the Congress government in Karnataka has made every effort to fulfil its promises, despite claims in some sections of the media about the guarantee schemes depleting the State treasury.
He accused the opposition and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running a misinformation campaign against his government with respect to guarantee schemes. Though they said that the guarantee schemes would derail the economy, the State stands number 1 in per capita income, and second in the country in GST collections.
“The rate of growth of India’s GDP is 7.1%, but 8.1% in Karnataka this year. The opposition has alleged I have taken a lot of loans, and the State is mired in debt. But this is a false allegation. I have answered this in the Assembly in my response during the budget session. Never have we crossed the limits imposed by the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.
‘Finances managed prudently’
He said that finances should be managed within parameters laid down in the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002
For example, he said, a State’s fiscal deficit should be less than 3%, and for Karnataka the figure is 2.85%.
Loans should be less than 25% of a State’s GSPD. The State’s loans add up to ₹30 lakh crore, which is 24.94% of our GSDP, he said.
The third criteria is that a State should be revenue surplus. However, Karnataka is revenue deficit, for which he blamed the previous BJP government, claiming they mismanaged the State’s finances.
Pointing out that the revenue deficit is ₹19,500 crore, he squarely blamed the Union Government for not providing grants amounting to ₹11,495 crore, which was due to Karnataka. Similarly, ₹5,300 crore earmarked for the Upper Bhadra project had not been given by the Centre, he said.
‘Did not pursue power’
In 1978, he became a taluk board member. He became a legislator in 1983. His political career stretching close to 50 years, he claimed, is an open book. He claimed to have never wavered from his principles. “I never pursued power or money. I never aspired to acquire property. I never compromised on my ideology or values,” he said.
“I have never compromised with the issues related to water, land and language of Karnataka. These are the rights of people of the State.” he said.
He said that he owes his career to the Constitution, drafted by a committee chaired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, which gives equal rights to every Indian. He said that he would not have become a member of the taluk board, a legislator, a minister, Leader of Opposition, Deputy CM, or CM had it not been for the Indian Constitution.
“Till my last breath, I will fight against communal forces, those who try to undermine the Constitution, and against those who prevent equal opportunities for everyone in society,” he said.
He jokingly thanked the mediapersons for tolerating him, and then, on a serious note, thanked them for supporting his work during the course of his career.
He said that he will continue in active politics, work for the people, and undertake any work given to him by the Congress party. “The Congress high command asked me to go to the Rajya Sabha. But with humility, I have told them that I am not interested in national politics, and that I want to continue in State politics,” he said.
Though Deputy Chief Minister and CM-aspirant D. K. Shivakumar was sitting next to him at the press conference, Mr. Siddaramaiah desisted from naming him as the next chief minister. When asked who will be the next CM, he said, “Whoever is chosen by the high command and the Congress legislature party will become the next chief minister.”
