Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Karnataka Chief Minister-designate DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that he has invited Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi to lay the foundation stone of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Bhavan after his swearing-in ceremony.
Shivakumar inspected the site in Bengaluru, where the KPCC Bhavan is slated to be constructed.
He told reporters, "On the eve of 100 years of Gandhi ji becoming the President, we decided to have 100 offices throughout the state. The time did not permit us to perform the Bhoomi Puja. So, on the day after the swearing-in ceremony, I am requesting Rahul ji and Mallikarjun Kharge ji to come here and lay the foundation. I will send the invitations."
Further, he noted that the party will be unable to accommodate all the leaders at the Lok Bhavan, and has decided to live-stream the oath-taking ceremony.
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"Since we are unable to accommodate our leaders at the Lok Bhavan, the live stream will be from here. All our workers and our leaders can also watch from here. I am also inviting all other religious leaders to be a part of this event," he said.
When asked if other leaders would be sworn in with him, he said, "I don't know. Whatever the party high command decides will happen."
Shivakumar, after his three-year stint as the Deputy Chief Minister, is set to assume the office as the Karnataka CM. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for June 3 at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru.
Shivakumar formally submitted a letter to Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot informing him about his unanimous election as CLP leader. This came after the voluntary resignation of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on May 28. The Governor dissolved the previous Council of Ministers immediately, but asked Siddaramaiah to continue until the new government is sworn in.
Meanwhile, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that the number of ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers in the new Karnataka cabinet is yet to be finalised.
Talking to reporters at Kalaburagi airport, Kharge said, "We have to see, no proposal has come yet. Once it does, we'll decide how many ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers to appoint. We'll know more after June 3."
The Congress chief said that there was no proposal to induct ministers in the new cabinet as of now. However, he informed about a second phase of inducting ministers in the cabinet, which will come after 15 days or a month.
"The proposal hasn't arrived yet--whether it's eight or 10 is still unknown. Once we have it, we'll proceed with the first phase accordingly. There's a plan to appoint the remaining members in a second phase, perhaps fifteen days or a month later," he said.
