I will not make unilateral decisions and will take everyone along, says DKS

Soon after taking oath as Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar announced that he would not make any unilateral decisions and that he would take everyone into confidence.

His statement is being seen as an effort to win over his party colleagues, particularly his political detractors, who are concerned that he may bulldoze them with his aggressive functioning style.

“Whatever decisions will be made by our government will be collective decisions,” he told in his maiden press conference in Bengaluru.

Recalling his interaction with the then Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata whom he had approached to consult him regarding the Bengaluru International Airport when S.M. Krishna was the Chief Minister, Mr. Shivakumar said, “Mr. Tata had then told me, If you want to walk fast, you walk alone. If you want to walk far, then you walk together.”

He said his intention was to provide a strong government with the support of all.

“The Chief Minister’s chair is not mine. It belongs to people of the State,” he said.

Claiming that the composition of his ministry reflected the theme of poet laureate Kuvempu’s famous lines Sarva Janangada Shantiya Thota (peaceful garden of all communities), Mr. Shivakumar said he believed in humanity and not in caste.

‘A bit late’

Interestingly, Mr. Shivakumar who had to wait for six months beyond the “deadline’ as per the reported power-sharing agreement to get the chief ministerial post, did not hide his disappointment at the delay. “It was a bit late,” he remarked.

At the same time, he acknowledged that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had stated that he would abide by the decision of the party high command with respect to the leadership issue and that he had vacated his seat with happiness to make way for his (Shivakumar’s) elevation.

Stating that he had gone through all kinds of experiences in his political career that began with him unsuccessfully contesting the Assembly polls in 1985, Mr. Shivakumar said: “I got to see power at an young age. At the same time, I got trapped in political strategies and had to be lodged in Tihar Jail. But I did not lose heart.”

Seeking the cooperation of media, he asked them “to criticise, but not speculate.”