Wordplay twist in Karnataka drama

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar on Thursday had a figurative exchange of "words"on promises and power even as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a meeting between the two and the top party leadership would be held to "end the confusion" in the state.

- Arun Dev

In the morning, Shivakumar posted on X that "word power is world power." This later prompted a repartee from Siddaramaiah, who posted: "A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people."

The 'word' used by Shiva-kumar was seen as a cryptic reference to a promise - specifically to his claim on Monday about a "secret deal" anchored by the Congress leadership after the party won power in Karnataka in 2023. The chief minister was apparently supposed to relinquish his post to his deputy after two-and-a-half years. Siddaramaiah completed two-and-also proposed stronger age-verification mechanisms, including Aadhaar-based gating, before explicit or sensitive content becomes viewable on digital platforms, questioning the adequacy of current one-line disclaimers that viewers barely register before objectionable material starts playing.

"A warning of one line and then the video starts — by the time a person understands the a-half years on November 20 and Shivakumar's supporters have been claiming that it is time for him to keep his "promise" to leave the post.