Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Nov 19: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president D K Shivkumar (DKS) has asked the party leaders who have become inactive in organizational functioning of the party to retire from politics rather than continuing in the party. There are many who worked as presidents of corporations, boards etc. and became MLAs and ministers because of the party. They need to work for building the party and if it is not possible, should voluntarily retire or join some other party, he suggested.

Speaking to reporters at the residence of the state ex-chief minister S M Krishna on Tuesday November 18, DKS spit venom against party leaders who have owned inertia in party affairs. When asked as to whether his suggestion applies to ex-deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, he said that his suggestion was for taluk and district-level leaders and not the state-level ones.

He also warned that the party will undertake disciplinary action against leaders who do not discharge their responsibilities properly. "We do not have time to waste. We need to go to the people. So every leader should jump into action," he said. On the rumours that MP Ambarish is thinking of joining the BJP, he said, the party believes that the actor will not desert the Congress.

Conventions of party workers will be held at various places of the state. The present state government has failed on every count, he said.

Maharashtra chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh, who was on a visit to the state's ex-governor S M Krishna said that the visit has no political importance and that it was a private visit.

Krishna justified the action taken by the party high command against Margaret Alva. The party wants to assert that indiscipline will not be tolerated at any cost, he added.  When his attention was drawn to an earlier statement issued by Kharge that Congressmen had caused party's defeat, he said that it was a general political statement and corruption charges were not levelled as in the case of Alva.