Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he has tendered his resignation as Chief Minister of Karnataka, two days after the party high command ordered him to resign.
He thanked the Congress leadership – Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi – for allowing him to serve the people of Karnataka as its Chief Minister twice.
Flanked by his deputy and successor DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah addressed a packed press conference shortly after submitting his resignation to the Special Secretary to the Governor at the Lok Bhavan here.
Special Secretary Prabhu Shankar resigned because Governor Thawarchand Gehlot was abroad.
“I have tendered my resignation from the post of Chief Minister,” Siddaramaiah told reporters as he expressed confidence that the Governor would accept his resignation as per constitutional provisions.
Siddaramaiah also said that he had made it clear time and again that he would resign whenever the high command instructed him to do so.
“The high command instructed me two days ago to leave, and accordingly I submitted my resignation today.
I have had the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge,” he said.
Shivakumar and other cabinet colleagues also accompanied Siddaramaiah to the Lok Bhavan.
There was a tough competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the party’s state president, for the coveted chief minister’s post after the Congress won the May 2023 Assembly elections.
