Bengaluru : Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he resigned his position as Chief Minister, ending months of speculation of leadership change following intense power tussle with his deputy D K Shivakumar for the coveted post.

Noting that the Congress leadership offered him a Rajya Sabha ticket, he said he declined it as he preferred active politics in Karnataka “to fight against communal forces till my last breath”.

Announcing his resignation at a packed press conference, the 77-year-old leader asserted that he was demitting office with a clean conscience and thanked his party brass for providing him an opportunity to serve the people for two terms.

Since Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was not in the town, he handed over his resignation letter to the Governor’s special secretary Prabhu Shankar. “I have tendered my resignation from the Chief Minister’s post. I am confident the Governor would accept my resignation as per Constitutional provisions,” he said. Siddaramaiah said he had stated repeatedly that he would resign whenever the high command instructed him.

“The high command directed me two days ago to step down, and accordingly, I have submitted my resignation today. I got the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Mallikarjun Kharge,” Siddaramaiah added.

Asked whether the high command exerted pressure on him, he said, “What pressure? I voluntarily resigned immediately after they asked me to.” He underscored that he was demitting office with clean conscience.

He asserted that he had never compromised on values and ideology and had never run after power or money. Also, he had never thought about accumulating wealth and his political career of 50 years was an open book.

Had there been no Constitution, he would neither have become educated nor have become a minister or chief minister.

“Without the Constitution, I would have been grazing sheep or ploughing fields because my parents were uneducated,” he said.

Reposing his faith in Buddha, 12th Century AD social reformer Basaveshwara, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar, Siddaramaiah said society must become egalitarian.

The programmes and policies of his government were meant for equality.

Siddaramaiah noted that his government made 550 promises, of which 300 have been fulfilled so far including the five pre-poll guarantees.

The BJP alleged that such guarantees could not be implemented. It claimed that the state would go bankrupt and that the treasury would become empty.

“We are number one in the entire country in per capita income. In GST collection, we are number two in the country after Maharashtra,” Siddaramaiah asserted. The Chief Minister alleged that the state is currently in revenue deficit because the previous BJP government had financially damaged the state.

‘Politely declined’ Cong high command’s Rajya Sabha seat offer: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru | Siddaramaiah, who resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister, on Thursday claimed that he “politely declined” the Congress high command’s Rajya Sabha seat offer.

He asserted that he would remain in active politics for at least the remaining two years of his term as Varuna constituency MLA.

“The high command asked me to go to the Rajya Sabha. I declined it humbly. I am not interested in national politics,” Siddaramaiah said.

Addressing a packed press conference at his residential office — Krishna — shortly after submitting his resignation to the Governor’s Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan here, he said he would stay grounded in state politics.

“I will remain in state politics. The people have elected me for five years, and two years are still left. Till then, I will work for the people of Karnataka and for the people of my constituency,” he added.

Asked about his future journey in politics, the Congress leader said he will continue to be active in politics and fight against communal forces.

When asked about the actual reason behind his resignation, he said he had been saying from the beginning that he would resign whenever the high command asks him to do so.

To a question whether there was any pressure from the party’s top brass, he said, “What pressure? I voluntarily resigned immediately after they (high command) asked me to do so.”