Bengaluru, May 28 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who submitted his resignation to the Governor’s Secretary on Thursday, stated that the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting and the party high command would take the final decision on the next Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Addressing a press conference alongside Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President, D.K. Shivakumar, and Home Minister G. Parameshwara, Siddaramaiah made the remarks while smiling and looking towards Shivakumar, who also appeared cheerful during the interaction.
Meanwhile, responding to media questions on who will be the next CM and whether he would be the one, Deputy CM Shivakumar, declined to make any comment and joined both hands and saluted the media.
Responding to questions regarding the discussions held in Delhi with the Congress high command, Siddaramaiah revealed that he had been offered a role in national politics but politely declined the proposal.
“The high command asked me to go to the Rajya Sabha. I humbly declined the offer. I told them that I have no interest in national politics and that I want to continue in Karnataka politics. The people have elected me for five years and two years of my term are still remaining. Until then, I will continue to serve the people of the state,” he stated.
Siddaramaiah clarified that his resignation was voluntary and not forced by the Congress leadership.
“I will continue in active politics. The high command did not force me to resign. I voluntarily submitted my resignation. Whoever is elected in the Congress Legislature Party meeting and approved by the high command will become the next Chief Minister,” he said.
The outgoing Chief Minister also expressed gratitude to his Cabinet colleagues and party leaders for supporting him during both his tenures as Chief Minister.
“I have never run behind money or the accumulation of property. It has been nearly 50 years since I entered politics and my political life is an open book. In today’s politics, only those who enjoy the support of the people can survive and flourish. Ultimately, it is the people who give power,” he stated.
“When I served as Chief Minister between 2013 and 2018 and again from 2023 till today, all my colleagues extended cooperation and affection to me. I will always remain grateful to them,” he stated.
Reflecting on his personal journey, Siddaramaiah said he never imagined he would rise to such high political positions.
“I come from a rural background. I never thought I would become a legislator, minister, Chief Minister or Leader of the Opposition. I entered politics accidentally because nobody in my family was involved in politics. Neither my parents nor my relatives were politicians,” he said.
Siddaramaiah stated that the ideologies of Buddha, Basavanna, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi had shaped his political philosophy.
“From the beginning, I believed in the ideologies of Buddha, Basava, Ambedkar and Gandhiji. I have immense respect for the Constitution,” he said.
He further stressed his commitment to social justice and equality.
“I believe everyone should live like one family irrespective of caste and religion. The country’s resources and power should be accessible to all, both economically and socially. The ideologies of Buddha, Basava, Gandhi and Ambedkar are my guiding principles,” Siddaramaiah stated.
“The entire society should become a garden of all religions. A society based on equality should prevail and everyone should get equal opportunities. Inequality exists because equal opportunities are not available to all. To eradicate inequality, opportunities must be equally distributed,” he added.
Siddaramaiah said both his governments had worked towards implementing welfare measures and fulfilling manifesto promises aimed at social empowerment.
“We made sincere efforts to implement the promises made in our manifesto. Along with that, we announced five guarantee schemes and fulfilled all five guarantees. We have spent nearly Rs 1.40 lakh crore on these schemes. We kept the promises made to the people and that gives satisfaction to me and my party,” he stated.
Defending the Congress government’s guarantee schemes against criticism from the opposition, Siddaramaiah said there had been a sustained campaign claiming that the state treasury would collapse due to welfare spending.
“There was propaganda against me by the Opposition, including by none other than the Prime Minister of this country. They claimed the guarantees could not be implemented and that the treasury would go bankrupt,” he alleged.
“However, after implementing the guarantees, Karnataka today stands number one in the country in terms of per capita income. In GST collections, Karnataka ranks second in the country,” he stated.
Quoting economic indicators, Siddaramaiah stated that Karnataka’s projected economic growth for 2026-27 stood higher than the national average.
“While the country’s GDP growth is projected at 7.4 per cent, Karnataka’s GSDP growth stands at 8.1 per cent,” he said.
Rejecting allegations that his government had excessively borrowed money, Siddaramaiah described the criticism as politically motivated.
“As Finance Minister and Chief Minister, allegations were made that I created huge debts. These are political allegations. According to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the fiscal deficit must remain within 3 per cent for a strong economy. Karnataka’s fiscal deficit is 2.95 per cent, which is well within the limit,” he explained.
He further stated that state borrowings were also within permissible limits.
“Loans should remain within 25 per cent of the GSDP. Karnataka’s debt currently stands at 24.94 per cent of the GSDP,” Siddaramaiah noted.
However, he admitted that the state was currently facing a revenue deficit and blamed the previous BJP government and the Centre for the situation.
“This year, Karnataka is facing a revenue deficit of around Rs 19,000 crore because the previous BJP government damaged the economy. Also, the 15th Finance Commission did not release Rs 5,495 crore that was due to Karnataka. In total, Rs 11,495 crore was not given to the state,” he claimed.
He also claimed that promised central funds for several schemes and projects had not been released.
“For the Upper Bhadra project, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had promised Rs 5,300 crore, but the amount was not released. GST compensation was stopped. More than Rs 10,000 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission did not come to Karnataka and MGNREGA allocations were also reduced,” he said.
“Our budget would have been in surplus had these funds been released,” Siddaramaiah claimed.
Highlighting the impact of the guarantee schemes, he said they had strengthened the purchasing power of ordinary people.
“Due to the implementation of the guarantees, the purchasing capacity of people has increased,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded the press conference by stating that he had never entered politics for wealth or personal gain.
–IANS
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