‘Don’t Know About Talks Between High Command & Leaders’: Karnataka DY CM DK Shivakumar On Change In CM

Bengaluru: Amid a divide in the Congress over a change in the CM post, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that he is not aware of the talks taking place between the leaders and the party's top leadership.

"Some people are speaking about Dalit CM. I know who is speaking what, I don’t want to speak anything now, it can only be done after the CM chair is vacant. Being the president of the party, I don’t want my govt damaged by me...I don’t want to damage the party or hurt the party...I don’t know about talks between high command and leaders about anything," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

He further said, "On the 10th, I have called a dinner meeting of MLCs and MLAs..."

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka on Monday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of deploying state intelligence agencies to monitor legislators believed to be loyal to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

BJP Claims CM Spying On DK Shivakumar

Ashoka alleged that a special team, headed by a senior police officer, had been tasked with tracking the movements, meetings and even phone conversations of certain Congress MLAs. He claimed that this “invisible SIT” was operating without formal orders and was aimed at identifying lawmakers backing Shivakumar amid an internal power tussle within the ruling party.

“Now, just like how Kumaraswamy used to form SITs against different opposition leaders, a SIT has been set up against them too. It is an invisible SIT. Without any formal order, they are monitoring who goes where, who meets whom, and what conversations are happening over the phone. You can call this phone tapping too,” he alleged.

CM Denies Claims

However, Siddaramaiah, in a strong‑worded response, denied the phone‑tapping allegations, calling them a "frustrated statement from restless souls."