Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 24: The Congress government in Karnataka seems to be crumbling under factional fights and financial stress. The Congress itself is performing the work of the opposition, targeting the own party government taking public swipes at their own leadership with the ministers and the party MLAs accusing each other of corruption.
A deepening factionalism in the Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar-led government, worsened by a fund crunch even as ‘Bhagya’ guarantee schemes are being rolled out to woo voters, has come out in the open.
Factionalism papered over when the party won the 2023 assembly elections, appears to be developing cracks over a rumbling demand for a change of guard at the top. Over the last few days, multiple leaders — all loyal to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, have raised the issue. The internal rebellion, no longer a whisper, has become a political embarrassment for the party. With four senior leaders raising their voices on issues of corruption, fund crunch and lack of development, the cracks are now visible.
Mr Shivakumar, a key contender for the top job in the state, was persuaded to accept the post of Mr Siddaramaiah’s deputy. He was also given the post of the party’s state unit chief. There were also some reports that the compromise also included a “rotational Chief Minister” formula, under which Mr Shivakumar was expected to become the Chief Minister after two-and-half years. But the party never confirmed this.
The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is clearly under pressure, with at least four senior Congress MLAs raising serious questions about corruption and governance failures. When asked about what action would be taken on the issues raised by the MLAs or against the dissenting leaders, the chief minister said he would call a meeting of the legislators and discuss their grievances with them directly.
Meanwhile, MLA Raju Kage, in a fresh development, said he was not blaming anyone, but disappointed. “A year ago, I laid the foundation for a road in a village, but even after all this time, no construction has started. When I asked the contractor, he said nothing has moved. The chief minister had released Rs 25 crore, yet in many departments, files simply don’t move. Ministers are not reachable on phone either. The government should set a rule—no file should be held up in any department beyond a fixed timeframe. The CM hasn’t spoken to me, and that’s upsetting. This kind of delay has been happening for the past two years.”
At a time when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has been praising the Congress government’s guarantee schemes, it’s his own party’s MLAs in Karnataka who are exposing the chinks in public. Among the most vocal are BR Patil, NY Gopalakrishna, Belur Gopalakrishna and Raju Kage.
But what has made things even more uncomfortable for the Congress is a comment by the chief minister’s political secretary and economic advisor, Basavaraj Rayareddy. Rayareddy, when asked about the corruption allegations against minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, said corruption is not unique to their government: “Corruption is a global phenomenon.”
Known for making uncomfortable statements about the financial crisis faced by the government, Rayareddy had earlier said the guarantee schemes were putting serious pressure on the state’s economy. Now, by admitting that corruption exists in the system and trying to justify it by calling it a “global issue,” he has once again stirred the pot. He later tried to walk back his comments, saying Patil’s statement had been twisted and added that Zameer was “one of the good ministers.”
Interestingly, BR Patil, who invited the controversy, clarified that he hadn’t named any individual. “I only spoke about Sarfaraz, our housing minister’s private secretary. Have I made any allegation against the minister?” Patil asked while speaking to the media. “All I have said is that corruption exists in the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation, and I have sought an investigation.” A clear U-turn.
The government’s financial mess was acknowledged publicly by home minister G Parameshwara at a public event in Badami. “We don’t have money. Even Siddaramaiah doesn’t,” he was heard saying. He added that the state had already distributed rice, dal, and oil under guarantee schemes, and urged local leaders to send Rs 1,000 crore proposal to the Centre for developing Badami.
The strongest attack came from BR Patil, who alleged a housing scam in the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation. In a leaked audio clip, Patil is heard accusing officials of demanding bribes to allot houses. He claimed that his own recommendations were ignored in favour of those who paid money. He even warned that if the list of beneficiaries was made public, the revelations could “shake the government.”
Another Congress leader and MLC, Belur Gopalakrishna, has demanded that Zameer Ahmed resign in the wake of these allegations to allow for a fair investigation. “A senior MLA has made these charges. Let the minister step down, face the probe, and come back if cleared,” he said.
Molakalmuru MLA NY Gopalakrishna also hit out at his government. Calling himself foolish for believing he could bring development to his constituency, he said he couldn’t even get a drainage system, a decent road, or a school built in the area. “We don’t even have the basics. How do you expect to run an industry here?” he said.
Then came Kage, MLA from Kagwad, who threatened to resign, saying that not a single work order had been issued in his constituency in two years, despite Rs 25 crore being sanctioned for development. “The people in my constituency are cursing me. I am hurt. If I meet the CM, I may resign,” he said. He backed Patil’s corruption charges and said the system had completely collapsed.
Sources within the Siddaramaiah government said the dissenting leaders would be called by the CM and warned against speaking openly. “There are a few leaders who feel that they have been constrained with funds, but this is not the way to air their concerns,” said a senior Congress leader. “The CM is in Delhi. He will also discuss the matter with the high command and later call a meeting for these leaders as well.” Another source confirmed that the Congress high common would issue notices to the dissenting leaders and a gag order may be put in place.
The BJP, meanwhile, has said it would take to the streets and launch a campaign against corruption in the Congress government. Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra launched a sharp attack, calling the Congress administration a “loot machine.” “There is only one scheme in this government—corruption,” he said.
Vijayendra stated that even Congress MLAs were now admitting the truth—that the government was collapsing under corruption and inaction. The BJP has pointed to the MUDA scam, the misuse of Valmiki funds, and now the housing scam as proof that the Congress’s narrative of good governance is falling apart from within.
Union minister HD Kumaraswamy called it a betrayal of the poor. “Owning a house is every poor family’s dream. But this government is extracting money from them. Why are middlemen even allowed inside Vidhana Soudha? It’s the ministers who have institutionalised this corruption by fixing rates inside their departments,” he said.
He claimed that MLAs have no real power anymore and that middlemen are running the show. “Funds and approvals are managed through bribes offered by middlemen. MLAs have been reduced to figureheads,” he said, calling it the worst kind of system now operating in the state.
With two-and-half years almost over for the reported rotational chief minister scheme, and Mr Siddaramaiah having to battle an alleged corruption case involving MUDA, the DK Shivakumar camp is moving in. Over the last few days, multiple leaders have spoken up on behalf of Mr Shivakumar – while several others have embarrassed the party talking about bribes, threatening resignation over delayed development funds, and demanding the Housing Minister’s resignation.
In May, Mr Shivakumar and his boss had an open face-off over the transfer of five senior engineers from the Public Works Department. Prior to May, the two had clashed over other administration issues, including cabinet allocation, portfolios, and appointments to boards and corporations.
