Karnataka CM tussle: Prahlad Joshi slams 'divided' Congress govt

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi criticised the Karnataka Congress govt over the CM dispute, calling it bankrupt and corrupt. He cited factionalism between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, while Shivakumar denied any political agenda for his Delhi visit.

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi on Thursday criticised the Congress government in Karnataka over the chief ministerial dispute, saying the party is divided, the government is failing, and the state is suffering from corruption and poor infrastructure.

Speaking to ANI, Prahlad Joshi said, "They know they won't come to power next time, so DK Shivakumar and his supporters want DK Shivakumar to get half the share, but Siddaramaiah is not ready... their government has gone bankrupt... nothing is happening except corruption. Factionalism is taking place. You can see the condition of Bengaluru, it is full of potholes..."

'No political agenda': DK Shivakumar on Delhi visit

As the power tussle over the CM post intensifies, a day earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that there was no political agenda to his visit to Delhi.

"No political agenda. I have come here for the wedding of my friend's son," Shivakumar told reporters here.

Preparations for 'Vote Chori' rally

As Karnataka Congress president, he said, it was his responsibility to oversee arrangements for the upcoming December 14 rally on the issue of "Vote Chori", where over 10,000 people from Karnataka will participate.

"I wanted to make arrangements for the December 14 Vote Chori rally. We are expecting more than 10,000 people to come from Karnataka. I just wanted to discuss with my colleagues and other friends what arrangements we can make. As the party president (of Karnataka Congress), I have the responsibility for all these things. I will return early morning because I have a cabinet meeting at 11 o'clock," Shivakumar said.

Joshi on Rahul Gandhi's statement

On the statement of Rahul Gandhi, Joshi said, "The relationship between Russia and India is very good... Regarding Rahul Gandhi's statement, the concerned people will speak... Who to meet, who not to meet, is determined on the basis of a policy; the concerned people will speak on this."

This comes after Rahul Gandhi accused the centre of suggesting that the foreign dignitaries not meet the LoP. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)