New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that he will not tolerate hate politics and will work to eliminate the environment of fear, adding that there is no room for negotiation on the matter of safeguarding the state's harmony and secular legacy.
He warned that those who incite or participate in community rioting will be subject to legal consequences. The education sector will not be "adulterated" in the name of New Education Policy, and neither will moral policing that undermines the moral power of the police, as stated by Siddaramaiah.
At a meeting with more than 40 writers and heads of various groups, held in his home office 'Krishna' here, the Chief Minister provided these promises.Sources say that on Monday, Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab met with the party's leadership here and argued against the party's backing of the Aam Aadmi Party over the Delhi services legislation.
Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Congress, called meetings of state officials in both places to get their take on the situation. The meetings also included Rahul Gandhi, a former president of the Congress.
The sources added that the bulk of the leaders ordered the leadership to have nothing to do with Arvind Kejriwal, describing him as the BJP's "B-team" and alleging that he was harmful to Congress interests not just in Delhi and Punjab, but across the country.
They estimated that between seven and eight high-ranking representatives of the Delhi Congress were present.
Leaders unanimously agreed that the AAP shouldn't be backed on the Ordinance, but the ultimate decision rests with the top brass. A source in the Delhi Congress informed that the party sees the legislation as a state government problem, not an issue of any one person or a matter of displaying support for the AAP.
An Ordinance presented by the Centre effectively annulled a Supreme Court judgement that provided to the Delhi government the power of moving bureaucrats in the city, therefore Kejriwal requested a meeting with Kharge and Gandhi to seek their support against the Ordinance.
According to reports, Kharge told Kejriwal he would consult with state party leaders before making a decision. According to the sources, the Congress leadership will consult with party figures from other states before making a final decision.
After the meeting, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, president of the Punjab Congress, told reporters that the party's high command would make the ultimate decision.
Raja Warring informed reporters after the meeting, "All the leaders have said the party high command will decide and we have left it to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to take the final decision."
Navjot Sidhu, a former leader of the party, has indicated that only the Congress president or Rahul Gandhi will be able to provide the specifics of the meeting.
However, he claimed that India's Constitution is a holy 'granth' that served as a source of motivation for him.
"But, I can say emphatically that the values of the Constitution are at its lowest ebb," he remarked, listing occasions in which the Centre "trampled upon" the Constitution. —Inputs from Agencies