Siddaramaiah flight diverted due to bad weather; postpones key meeting with Rahul Gandhi

Bengaluru: The scheduled meeting between outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday has been postponed to Friday after the former’s flight was diverted due to bad weather.

According to official sources, Siddaramaiah’s flight was diverted to Jaipur, forcing a rescheduling of the meeting, which is now expected to take place at 9 am on Friday.

The meeting is likely to be closely watched as it comes amid speculation over the Congress leadership’s attempt to persuade Siddaramaiah to reconsider his refusal of a Rajya Sabha seat.

Sources within the party said that although Siddaramaiah has turned down the Upper House offer, Rahul Gandhi is expected to personally urge him to accept the position and take on a more prominent role in national politics.

The Congress leadership is reportedly willing to give the veteran leader time to reconsider, with the nomination filing deadline set for 8 June.

Despite repeated overtures from the party high command, Siddaramaiah has maintained that he prefers to remain in state politics.

“I was asked to go to Rajya Sabha but I have politely told that I cannot. I have interest in state politics. People have elected me for five years, there are another two years left. I will be here,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation as Chief Minister, handing over his papers to Prabhu Shankar, Special Secretary to the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. As the Governor was out of station, the documents were submitted to his office in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah said his resignation was in line with directions from the Congress high command, reiterating that he had always maintained he would step down whenever instructed by the party leadership.

“I have submitted my resignation to the Governor’s Office. The Governor is not here; he is returning tonight. So, I submitted the resignation to his office,” he said.

He added that there was no external pressure and that he had voluntarily resigned following the party’s decision.

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