Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai broke his three-day silence on the opposition Congress’ remarks that he is about to be replaced.
The Chief Minister, who made his first public appearance after recovering from COVID-19 on August 11, told mediapersons: “I do not bother about such remarks by the Congress as I have become sthitaprajna. I have become sthitaprajna because I know the truth. The truth is that there is no basis for such remarks of the Congress. They are politically motivated comments.”
Sthitaprajna is a term used in Bhagavad Gita to describe a person of steady wisdom and one who has experienced the truth from within.
It may be noted that the opposition Congress had tweeted that the third chief minister is about to occupy the seat of power in Karnataka in the ‘40% government’ (government which is accused of taking 40% commission from contractors). The Congress had maintained that the ‘cloudy environment’ after key strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah left Karnataka and the subsequent silence among BJP ministers about his visit was an indication of the imminent leadership change.
Responding to this, the Chief Minister said, “This is not the first time that Congress is tweeting (about the possibility of him being replaced). There is uncertainty in their minds. They are trying to shift such uncertainty to the minds of people. But people will not believe them as they know about my functioning and work. More than that, I am sthitaprajna because I know the truth.”
“The state of sthitaprajna, and the remarks of the Congress have made my resolve stronger. It has inspired me to do more for the State’s development and strengthening the party. In the coming days, I will work two hours more on a daily basis for the State’s development. I will focus more on development of the State, strengthening of the party and reaching out to people,” he remarked.
“They (Congress leaders) think that they can bring about instability in the minds of people about my government. But people of Karnataka will not believe it. I have become sthitaprajna. I am not going to give importance to this. My mind is very clear,” he remarked.
He said the Congress had utterly failed in its efforts to create instability. “In fact, there are two views within the Congress about such a tweet of my replacement,” he claimed.
Seeking to downplay the episode of his own party leader and former MLA Suresh Gowda endorsing the views of the Congress, the Chief Minister said there was no need to attach importance to such comments.
