Minister rejects allegations on ‘interference’ of DKS

Bengaluru

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday rejected JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy’s allegation that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar interfered into the functioning of his (Parameshwara’s) department.

He was responding to Union Minister Kumaraswamy’s comments accusing Shivakumar of interfering in Home department’s affairs, while questioning the latter’s authority to convene a meeting of police officers recently in connection with the Ballari clashes.

“He (Shivakumar) is a responsible minister, he is the Deputy CM. Kumaraswamy may be right that the Deputy CM is also just a cabinet minister and he doesn’t have extra powers as per the constitution. But, as a government representative, he (Shivakumar) going there cannot be termed as wrong. He has gone there with the responsibility of being a cabinet minister and Deputy CM, as I couldn’t go,” Parameshwara said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, Shivakumar had gone to Ballari being a Deputy Chief Minister, a Minister and the representative of the government, and met the deceased person’s family.

When pointed out that Kumaraswamy’s question was regarding Shivakumar holding a meeting with police officers and with whose permission, the Home Minister said, “what is the need for permission? He is a government representative.”

“Cabinet is a collective responsibility, it cannot be called interference......if he had really interfered, issued directions to police officers and if it had a different impact, I would have accepted the allegations of interference. I don’t know how Kumaraswamy has understood things,” he added.