The Constitution is my religion and voters are my abhimani devaru: Siddaramaiah

Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who on Thursday resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister, said he would continue to remain active in State politics and had no interest in moving to national politics.

Addressing a press conference after submitting his resignation, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Congress high command had offered him a Rajya Sabha seat, which he declined. “I politely declined the offer as I have no interest in national politics,” he said.

He added that he would continue as an MLA, noting that the people had elected him for a five-year term. “I will continue to fight communal forces in the State,” he said.

Recalling the late Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar’s iconic phrase about his fans, Mr. Siddaramaiah remarked, “I am a politician. The Constitution is my religion and the voters are my abhimani devaru (fan gods).”

Reflecting on his political journey, he said his rise in politics was largely accidental, as he hailed from a rural background and no one else in his family had previously been involved in politics.

KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar and several Cabinet colleagues accompanied Mr. Siddaramaiah during the resignation process and later attended the press conference.

Looking back on his two-decade journey in the Congress, Mr. Siddaramaiah thanked the party leadership for giving him the opportunity to serve Karnataka.

“I got the opportunity to serve the 7 crore people of Karnataka for two terms as Chief Minister. I also had the opportunity to serve twice as Leader of the Opposition,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge for their support and said party workers and leaders had stood by him since he joined the Congress in 2006.

Welfare agenda

The outgoing Chief Minister also used the occasion to defend his government’s welfare agenda and financial management. Stressing his commitment to social justice, he said inequality in society could only be addressed by ensuring equal opportunities for all sections.

“During my two terms, I focused on ensuring equality for everyone,” he said, claiming that his government had fulfilled 158 of the 165 promises made in the Congress manifesto during his first tenure as Chief Minister.

He highlighted the implementation of the Congress government’s five guarantee schemes within the first year of coming to power, despite criticism from Opposition parties and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Opposition parties claimed that the guarantee schemes could not be implemented and would become a financial burden. False allegations were levelled against me that the State’s borrowings had increased,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Rejecting allegations regarding Karnataka’s financial health as politically motivated, he asserted that the State’s fiscal position remained stable.

“The State’s finances are sound. The fiscal deficit is below 3% of the State Gross Domestic Product and currently stands at 2.95%,” he said, adding that the outstanding liabilities stood at 24.94% of the SGDP.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State Budget for 2026–27 had become deficit-oriented because the Centre had not released promised funds for the Upper Bhadra Project, GST compensation, and allocations under the Jal Jeevan Mission.s