Bengaluru, May 28: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday formally resigned as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, stating that he stepped down after receiving directions from the Congress high command.
Addressing the media after submitting his resignation, Siddaramaiah said he had consistently maintained that he would resign whenever the party leadership instructed him to do so.
“I had repeatedly said both publicly and before the media that whenever the high command directs me, I will resign from the Chief Minister’s post. Following the direction given by the high command recently, I have submitted my resignation today,” Siddaramaiah said.
He confirmed that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was not in Bengaluru at the time and therefore his resignation letter was handed over to the Governor’s Secretary Prabhu Shankar at Raj Bhavan.
“I have submitted my resignation letter. The Governor is out of station and is expected to return tonight, so I handed over the letter to his office through the Governor’s Secretary,” he stated.
Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that the resignation would be accepted in accordance with constitutional procedure.
“Once a Chief Minister submits resignation, it is the constitutional responsibility to accept it and facilitate formation of the next government,” he said.
The outgoing Chief Minister asserted that the Congress government continues to enjoy a comfortable majority in the Assembly with support from independent legislators as well.
“Our party has more than 135 MLAs and two Independents have also extended support. Therefore, the government has a clear majority,” he said.
During his emotional address, Siddaramaiah thanked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge for giving him the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka.
“I got the opportunity to serve seven crore Kannadigas and become Chief Minister twice. I also got the opportunity to serve twice as Leader of the Opposition. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge,” he said.
Invoking legendary Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar’s famous phrase “fans are gods,” Siddaramaiah said that for him, voters are equivalent to “abhimani devaru” and that the Constitution remained his guiding principle in public life.
“Rajkumar used to say fans are gods. I am a politician who believes the Constitution is our dharma and voters are our true gods,” he remarked.
Siddaramaiah also thanked Congress workers, legislators, MPs, Rajya Sabha members and his cabinet colleagues for supporting him throughout his political journey and tenure in office.
The resignation marks a major political transition in Karnataka and is expected to pave the way for the Congress Legislature Party to elect a new leader in the coming hours.
