Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President G Parameshwara said on Saturday that he as the party president and Siddaramaiah as the chief minister had equal responsibility and a common role to play, i.e., fulfil the promises made to the people before the elections.
In an interaction with Deccan herald, Parameshwara said the party high command was well aware of his stand on joining the ministry or to keeping off it.
“Our roles are now well defined. I am the head of the party, while Siddaramaiah is heading the party government. The challenge for the government is to give a clean and efficient governance as promised,” he said.
Asked whether at any point he would be joining the Cabinet, he did not offer a directly reply.
He said, “The Pradesh Congress Committee president post is important. The chair, and not the individual, has to be respected. In our party, the president’s post is supreme. It is so at the AICC level too.
During Devaraj Urs’ tenure as chief minister, K H Patil, as the party president, used to summon the chief minister. That is the authority the president has.”
Replying to a question, he said it didn’t matter whether he was part of the Cabinet or not.
“I have a different, but definite responsibility,” he said.
He said that he had explained to Sonia Gandhi his debacle in Koratagere.
“The loss is not just that of Parameshwara, but that of the party. Sonia was sympathetic to me. Anyhow, I am reconciled to the situation. I will be focusing on the Periyapatna election. I have to get ready to lead the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
When asked to comment on the team formed by Siddaramaiah, the president said the team is a balanced one with both new and old faces. As there is a cap on the number of ministers, it is not possible to accommodate all the aspirants.
The only challenge now is to deliver a corruption-free and effective government. He said he and Siddaramaiah would work in tandem to keep the promises made to the people.
Asked why D K Shivakumar has been left out of the Cabinet, he said the party has gone by certain parameters in selecting MLAs for the ministership. Those who did not fit the bill have not been made ministers, he said.
