People have given me the power to do S turn, says Chief Minister DK Shivakumar

DK Shivakumar Photo Credit: File photo

“The opposition is accusing me of turning decisions like the Karnataka Government Parks (Conservation) (Amendment) Bill. They can accuse me of anything. But I want to tell them that the people of the state have given me the power to turn S,” Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said at Kudal Sangam in Bagalkot district on Friday.

“There is no question of prestige in withdrawing any bill or government decision. For me, public interest and people’s opinion about our decision is important. People have given me the power to turn S. We will see what the next turn is,” he said.

“I wanted to explain every aspect of the Parks amendment on the floor of the House. But the opposition did not allow the session to function properly. If there had been a detailed discussion, I would have given appropriate answers to all their questions. The bill was introduced in the public interest. If necessary, I would form a committee to decide. The bill had the approval of the House. But we decided to withdraw it in view of public opinion,” he said.

He dismissed the BJP’s claim that Minister B. Nagendra had resigned over her protests. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Shivakumar said that Mr. Nagendra resigned to save the state government from embarrassment. “However, despite his resignation, he will remain our leader. There is no doubt about that,” he said.

“Due to some rainfall in North Karnataka and Maharashtra, some water has flowed into Krishna river but other reservoirs like KRS are yet to fill up completely. Meanwhile, people in Tamil Nadu have started looking for water for their crops. I have decided after consulting Yathindra Siddaramaiah and N. Cheluvarayas, we have started releasing it from Kabini from Kabini. We are determined to protect the interests of the farmers of our state,” he said.

“The Siddaramaiah government decided not to accept the recommendations of the Kasturirangan report. But the Union government issued a notification against that decision and gave us 60 days to express our views. Our stand now has to be formulated after taking into account the views of all parties. Since there is a BJP government at the Centre, it is necessary to take the BJP into confidence and not hold leaders who do not hold discussions during the discussions at the centre. The just concluded session now calls for a seven-day special session,” he said.

“I welcome BJP’s padayatra. Whenever the opposition protests against us, it means we are strong,” he replied to a question.

“Let the BJP leaders undertake four more such yatras. They should also organize the Pashchattapa Padayatra as penance for their sins. The people of the state have already rejected them. I don’t bother much with such things,” he said.

“I believe that the stronger we are, the more opponents we will have. If we are not powerful, we will have no enemies. It is natural in a democracy that both the opposition and the people look out for those who work hard,” he said.

Published – 04 Sep 2026 21:08 IST