DK Shivakumar Responds Sarcastically to Yathindra Siddaramaiah’s ‘High Command’ Remark

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Feb 6, 2026: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday offered a sarcastic response to Yathindra Siddaramaiah’s claim that the Congress high command has given a green signal for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to continue in office for five years.

Reacting to media queries in Mangaluru, Shivakumar said, “Yathindra Siddaramaiah is our high command. Whatever he says, I will accept it with respect. Since he has made a statement as if he himself is the high command, let us accept him as the high command,” he remarked, in an apparent dig.

DK Shivakumar meets Janardhana Poojary

When asked about MLA Basavaraju’s demand for clarity on the alleged power-sharing agreement, the Deputy Chief Minister said he would not respond to statements made by Basavaraju or Yathindra. “If any response is to be given, it should come from Delhi,” he said.

Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, announced that directions have been issued to lay the foundation stone for 100 Congress party offices across the State in March. “Whether the AICC gives a date or not, I will make all preparations and begin the work,” he said.

He added that he had attended the foundation-laying ceremony of the Congress Bhavan on Thursday. “On March 10, I will complete six years as KPCC president. In this context, we are beginning the building construction work,” he said.

Responding to allegations that Muslim leaders were not invited to the foundation-laying ceremony, Shivakumar said the Congress does politics based on policy, not caste or religion. “We need people from all castes and religions. We do not practise politics based on caste or religion. Religion should be in politics, but politics should not be in religion. That is our party’s principle. Some people make such allegations out of jealousy,” he said.