"Rahul Gandhi advised newly elected MPs to be voice of Karnataka": Deputy CM DK Shivakumar

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 7 (ANI): Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has advised the newly elected Congress MPs from Karnataka to be the voice of the state in Delhi.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Rahul Gandhi at Hotel Shangrila, the Karnataka Deputy CM said, "Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with the newly elected Congress MPs and candidates. He advised the newly elected Congress MPs to be in touch with the constituency as often as possible and do good work with the support of the state government. He urged them to raise their voice against the injustice caused to the state."
"Stating that only one MP from Karnataka spoke for the state in the previous Parliament, Rahul Gandhi advised the new MPs to raise their voice on the injustice caused to the state with regards to tax devolution, Kalasa Bhanduri, Mekedatu, Upper Bhadra, the Finance Commission, the Peripheral Ring Road, etc.," he said.
Adding further, he said, "Rahul Gandhi also spoke to the defeated candidates and advised them to continue their work in the constituency and win the hearts of the people. Rahul Gandhi later met some of the ministers and discussed party performance in their respective constituencies."
"Rahul Gandhi has instructed the Chief Minister and me to prepare a report on election performance after deliberations with various leaders. The Chief Minister and I have been invited for the AICC Working Committee meeting on June 8. We will hold a review meeting once we come back from Delhi," he added.
"Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge ji and Article 371 have fueled the party in Karnataka, and the party has won all five seats in the region. We will work out future courses of action keeping all these in mind," he noted.
DK Shivakumar further congratulated the three candidates who emerged victorious in the recently concluded MLC elections.
Asked if the issue of the party not getting leads in the constituencies of many ministers was discussed in the meeting with Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi has discussed it with all the ministers. The High Command has asked for a report, and we will submit a report after our discussions with the party leaders."
Asked if the guarantee schemes were discussed, he said there was no discussion on them.
When asked about BJP MLA Ashwathnarayan's statement that Rahul Gandhi had come to seek the CM's resignation, he said, "Let him talk about his party first, there have been so many cases of funds misuse during the BJP's term. The CM has already ordered an investigation into the Valmiki Development Corporation scam."
Asked if the India alliance would agree with the special status demand for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, he said, "The Congress party had announced that it would give special status to Andhra Pradesh if we came to power, and we would have done so. The NDA government is getting formed now. Let them take a decision."
Asked about the functioning of the EVMs, he said, "I have a few doubts about EVMs. I am collecting some data regarding that, and I will talk to you about it then."
Replying to a query on the growing demands of NDA alliance partners, he said, "There is nothing wrong with their expectations. People with a much lower number of seats are demanding a lot these days."
Asked if Rahul Gandhi would become the Leader of the Opposition, he said, "The whole country is hoping to see Rahul Gandhi become the PM. We are hoping that he will become the leader of the opposition now." (ANI)