Bengaluru: With just ten days to go for the poll results to be out, the list of aspirants for the CM post in the Congress is growing rapidly.
On Friday, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr G. Parameshwar who missed the CM race in 2013 after his lost his Koratagere seat, said the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) will select the leader (CM) to lead them, thus dispelling reports that a decision had already been made to appoint Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister again if the Congress won the polls.
“We have a procedure in place to select the CM once our party cross the half-way mark in the Assembly. All those who aspire to be the future CM, can contest and a leader will be selected through secret ballot. The field is open to anyone, be it Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr K.H. Muniyappa or even me, we can put forth our candidature but ultimately, the collective decision of the CLP will prevail," he said obliquely hinting that he too was a contender for the post.
Dr Parameshwar also turned the heat on Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for raking up the Dalit CM issue and dared him to announce the BJP’s Dalit CM candidate before speaking about the Congress party. Speaking to reporters here after releasing a CD containing poll songs, he said, “If the Prime Minister and his party are so concerned about Dalits not getting their due, what have they done for Dalits? First I dare him to declare a leader of his choice as Dalit CM of his party in place of the CM candidate, B. S. Yeddyurappa. He is still in the state and campaigning hard for his party, it is still not late yet," he said sarcastically.
Answering to a question, Dr Parameshwar said the Congress has not insulted Dalits the way the BJP or its erstwhile avatar, the Jana Sangh did. “BJP leaders go to Dalits’s house, order food from five- star hotels and then claim that they had meals with Dalits. This is what Mr Yeddyurappa did. The Congress party has not stooped so low and heaped insults on Dalits. I am proud that it was the Congress party which gave a Dalit CM to Maharashtra, I have been KPCC president for the last eight years. Do not forget that even Mallikarjun Kharge was KPCC president and he is now leading the party in the Lok Sabha. Can the same be said about the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he wondered.
