Overwhelmed with the thumping victory his party has registered, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar broke down on Saturday while remembering the time he spent in jail.
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“I can’t forget Sonia Gandhi visiting me in jail...when BJP people put me in jail,” Shivakumar said, sobbing and almost choking.
Shivakumar said he “chose to be” in jail, a reference to a claim he had made in the past that he opted for imprisonment against the BJP’s offer of making him deputy chief minister.
In September-October 2019, Shivakumar spent 50 days in Tihar Jail in connection with a money laundering case.
Shivakumar said he had assured Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge that Karnataka will be delivered.
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“People have trusted us with a majority. People have reposed faith in us. It’s a collective leadership that has worked. I thank all my leaders, including Siddaramaiah, and MLAs,” Shivakumar said.
A long-time Man Friday of the Congress, Shivakumar was appointed to head the party in Karnataka in March 2020. He is a chief ministerial candidate.
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Shivakumar said he would visit Kanakapura to collect his election certificate and return to the city later in the evening.