Bengaluru, 17 April

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is “helpless” and under some “compulsion”, said Congress MLA KN Rajanna amid claims that his confidants are being targeted within the ruling part.

Rajana, considered close to Siddaramaiah, said that the Chief Minister is not standing up to defend his aides as the Congress took action against minority community leaders – also considered close to the CM – after the Davangere South bypolls.

Rajanna himself was sacked from the Cabinet last August, after his criticism of party leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft" charge.

"There will be vested interests in the party who will try to conspire against those who have been loyal to the party and want the party to grow for the welfare of the people,” he told press in the City on Friday.  “Nothing can be done about it. What we expect from our Chief Minister is that when such a situation arises, he should stand strong. But he is not."

“We did not expect such a helpless situation from Siddaramaiah," he added.

When asked who had made Siddaramaiah helpless, Rajana said, "I won't say who, you understand it yourself".

The Congress recently suspended MLC K Abdul Jabbar from the party's primary membership and relieved MLC Naseer Ahmed from his position as the CM’s political secretary amid a row over Muslims during the Davangere bypolls.

Rajana attacks DKS over double standards

Rajana also took an apparent dig at Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar by citing a Kannada proverb that said that there is no punishment for the mistakes committed by the King.

"Does sharing a stage with a person (referring to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) who said, 'Who is Rahul Gandhi? I don't know,' not amount to indiscipline?" he remarked. Rajana also said that “this person… goes there and compliments UP CM Yogi Adityanath for arrangements made for the Kumbh Mela. He also goes to the Ambani family marriage, while Rahul Gandhi did not even accept the invitation."

He added that he was not calling for action to be taken against Shivakumar.

Rajana noted that late Davangere MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa campaigned for the BJP candidate BY Raghavandra during the Shivamogga Lok Sabha polls but no action was taken.  "The same people were at the helm then (referring to Shivakumar as KPCC chief).”