CM decided by high command, not our call, says Priyank

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday said that Congressmen in the state talking about the chief minister’s post held no value since the decision on the same was taken by the high command.

Kharge, who is the for Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and Information Technology and Bio-Technology (IT-BT) and in Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s camp, appeared to be talking about CM Siddaramaiah’s remark from a day prior that he would continue as the head of government for a full five-year term.

However, the CM qualified his statement with the fact that it was indeed the call of the Congress central leadership.

“Firstly, it is a decision left to the high command and not anyone else, be it the honourable chief minister, the deputy chief minister or anyone else, including me,” Priyank said.

“Apart from three or four people, no one else knows,” he added.

“If I say something, that is my own imagination alone and not the thoughts of the high command. The high command will decide. I’ve already said about what the CM said. Four people in Delhi hold discussions. Apart from those four, anyone else issuing statements doesn’t hold value. Suppose tomorrow, the high command tells me you (pointing to the reporter) are the chief minister, then I will say yes,” Kharge said.

Some media misquoting me: Kharge junior

Priyank Kharge said that the statement he made on the chief minister’s post earlier in the day was taken out of context, adding that some media had been misreporting his quote.

Kharge posted the same on the micro-blogging site X (previously Twitter). He attached a screenshot from a Kannada news channel’s clip saying “I’ll be CM tomorrow” and juxtaposed it with a video clip of his statement.

“Using the words I did not and ascribing them to and saying ‘I’ll be the CM tomorrow’ in the title are not good examples for the Kannada media in my opinion,” Priyank tweeted.