New Delhi: Congress leader Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka at 12:30 pm on Saturday, May 20, with D.K. Shivakumar as his deputy. Eight other leaders were also sworn in as cabinet ministers, while top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said five key promises that the party made in its manifesto would be turned into laws.
The swearing-in ceremony, exactly one week after the Congress swept the assembly polls in Karnataka, was attended by other Congress chief ministers and leaders of “like-minded parties” – in yet another show of opposition unity. The event was held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, where Siddaramaiah had also taken oath in 2013.
I thank everyone present here for attending the swearing-in ceremony.
We are going to implement all five of our promises in the first cabinet meeting.
Jai Hind! Jai Karnataka! Jai Congress!
: Karnataka CM Shri @siddaramaiah pic.twitter.com/KAC3N0pBhu
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 20, 2023
Other leaders who were sworn in as ministers by governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot were G. Parameshwara, K.H. Muniyappa, K.J. George, M.B. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, Ramalinga Reddy, and B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan. The initial eight ministers were chosen from diverse backgrounds, with representatives of minority communities and marginalised groups like Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 20, 2023
Siddaramiah was chosen by Congress MLAs for the chief minister’s job over Shivakumar. The Congress won a decisive victory over the BJP in the assembly elections, winning 135 seats in the 224-member house.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress government would turn the five guarantees in its manifesto into laws. These guarantees were the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which will provide Rs 2,000 per month to every woman head of a house; the Yuva Nidhi scheme which will pay Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders every month for two years; the Anna Bhagya scheme will give 10 kg of rice per person per month to families that are below the poverty line; the Gruha Jyoti scheme promises to give 200 units of electricity free of cost to every household in the state; and the Saakhi programme will make bus travel within Karnataka free for women.
कांग्रेस सरकार कर्नाटक की जनता की सरकार है, आपकी सरकार है।
ये दिल से आपके लिए काम करेगी।
हमारी सरकार का लक्ष्य है- किसान, मजदूर, छोटे दुकानदार, युवाओं की रक्षा करना और उनके भविष्य को सुनहरा बनाना।
: @RahulGandhi जी pic.twitter.com/s9oWOqOOUa
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 20, 2023
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying whenever he goes to Japan, there is a decision to demonetise currency notes. Modi left to Japan on Friday to attend the G7 meeting, while the RBI announced that Rs 2,000 notes would be withdrawn from circulation immediately and they need to be deposited in banks or exchanged before September 30, 2023.
The Congress President Shri @kharge Ji’s views on the Modi government’s decision to withdraw ₹2000 currency notes from circulation. pic.twitter.com/wHOVilV6S2
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 20, 2023
Among those who attended the ceremony were Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh counterparts Bhupesh Bhagel and Sukhwinder Sukhu – all Congress leaders. Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren were also present, as were Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav. The Congress is an alliance partner in these three governments.
Also present were key Congress allies NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and NCP leader Farooq Abdullah. Other opposition figures who attended the ceremony were Mehbooba Mufti, RLD leader Jayant Singh, actor-politician Kamal Haasan, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D. Raja.
Five years ago, when H.D. Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as chief minister of Karnataka – in alliance with the Congress – a galaxy of opposition leaders had attended the event, in a similar show of strength.