Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has moved to quash media rumours following his brief tarmac meeting with Rahul Gandhi, insisting that no "secret message" was delivered to the state leadership. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday, the state Congress President lashed out at speculation that the encounter was linked to an ongoing power struggle between him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The meeting took place on Tuesday evening at Mysuru’s Mandakalli Airport while Gandhi was in transit from Tamil Nadu to New Delhi. Despite reports of separate one-on-one huddles, Shivakumar maintained that the interaction was strictly professional and procedural. "I am the state president and he is a top national leader. Meeting him and following protocol isn't something that should be debated in public," he said, accusing TV channels of "creating confusion" by quoting off-the-record sources.
As per Shivakumar, “The talk was on issues of performance of state govts on MGNREGA and Save MGNREGA campaign and the political mood regarding Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka.” The CM, according to Shivakumar, “Only told them to ‘continue doing good work.’ Nothing was said that could not be stated on record!”
Shivakumar has now clarified the mystery surrounding a tweet he posted on his Twitter handle shortly after the meeting, which read: 'efforts may fail, but prayers won't.' While some interpreted this as a sign of his aspirations for the Chief Minister’s chair, Shivakumar dismissed the link, explaining that he was merely quoting a line from a speech he gave at a recent Vokkaliga entrepreneurs' expo.
The Deputy CM is now set to fly to New Delhi on January 16. While his visit to the capital is likely to draw further scrutiny, party insiders suggest the trip is actually tied to his role as a senior observer for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam.
Also read: Karnataka Hate Speech Bill: A double-edged weapon?
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