Yathindra, a Congress MLC, on Tuesday blamed the media for the ongoing debate over the change of chief minister in Karnataka.
Asked by reporters about Siddaramaiah’s statement that the party high command would take a call on whether he would continue as Chief Minister, Mr. Yathindra said the debate on the issue was only for the sake of the media.
There will be no debate on the matter unless the media takes up the matter, Mr. Jathindra said in Mysuru on Tuesday.
Regarding Mr. Siddaramaiah’s statement, Mr. Yathindra, his son, said, “Of course, if someone is to continue as chief minister, the decision is left to the high command.”
Mr. Yathindra said there was no discussion in the party about any such change. He said he believed there would be no change of Chief Minister in Karnataka as no such information was given by the party high command either to Mr. Siddaramaiah or any other party leader.
When Congress leader KN Rajanna’s reported statement that Mr. Siddaramaiah was indispensable to the party caught his attention, Mr. Yathindra said Mr. Rajanna’s view was shared by several Congress leaders.
On the call for the post of Dalit Chief Minister, Mr. Yathindra said there were several leaders in the Congress who were eligible to become the Chief Minister, adding that it was not wrong for someone to aspire to the post.
About the Electoral Commission
Meanwhile, Mr. Yathindra attended a meeting of Tagadur Block party workers in Varuna and came out strongly against the Election Commission for not acting against the ruling BJP at the Center for its alleged vote-stealing.
Although the Election Commission should not come under political influence and is expected to be fair and impartial, Mr. Yathindra alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) was acting as a “political operator”.
Instead of taking complaints of vote-stealing by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders seriously, the CEC resorted to “vilification” of the complainants, he said.
Mr. Yathindra said the Election Commission had been “compromised” and mentioned that there was a threat to democracy if such institutions were misused by the government.
Published – 28 October 2025 20:30 IST
