Bengaluru, March 10 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday congratulated Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for completing six years as the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), praising his organisational abilities and commitment to the party.

The Chief Minister said Shivakumar’s organisational skills, ideological commitment and hard work had become a model for young leaders in the Congress party.

Siddaramaiah said that despite facing several challenges, including what he described as false cases filed by the opposition BJP and various forms of harassment, Shivakumar had remained steadfast and loyal to the party.

“This reflects his uncompromising commitment to the Congress party. His conduct has been inspiring for lakhs of Congress workers,” the Chief Minister said.

He added that Shivakumar had worked tirelessly along with party leaders and workers to defeat what he termed communal forces and bring the Congress party to power in the state.

Siddaramaiah also noted that Shivakumar had stood “shoulder to shoulder” with him in efforts to rebuild Karnataka as a state of peace and harmony for people of all communities.

The Chief Minister further said that Shivakumar, who is younger than him, has a bright political future and expressed hope that the Congress party would return to power again in 2028.

“It is the wish of all of us that the Congress party should come back to power in 2028. I will also join the party’s organisational work and struggles to achieve that goal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar defended Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka launched an attack on the State Budget 2026–27 in the Assembly today.

Criticising the BJP for staging a protest with empty vessels on the day the Budget was presented, he said, “You have brought empty vessels to Vidhana Soudha to protest even before the presentation of the Budget. This shows your attitude. We call Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget an empty vessel.”

Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and senior BJP MLA Arvind Bellad said that if Shivakumar was supporting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, it seemed that good news was coming.

Shivakumar stood up and replied, “You don’t have to dream about all that.”

BJP State General Secretary and MLA V. Sunil Kumar further taunted Shivakumar, saying that he had not attended any of the preliminary Budget meetings chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“I did not see a single comment from you (Shivakumar) on the State Budget. What is happening now? Even for your two major departments, you did not attend the Budget meetings. There is no comment in the newspapers either supporting or opposing Siddaramaiah’s Budget,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said that whatever Shivakumar had to convey, he had already conveyed it in New Delhi.

–IANS

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