Bengaluru: Chief minister-designate and Congress Legislature Party leader D K Shivakumar on Sunday said the party high command would take a final call on whether members of the new cabinet would be sworn in alongside him during the oath-taking ceremony scheduled for June 3.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the site earmarked for the construction of a new Congress Bhavan near Race Course Road, Shivakumar said discussions were also underway to hold the foundation-stone-laying ceremony for the party office soon after the swearing-in event.
He said the participation of All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the ceremony was yet to be confirmed.
Shivakumar said invitations would be extended to block and district Congress presidents, MLAs, former MLAs, MPs, office-bearers of various party wings, and heads of state corporations and boards. He added that senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy has been entrusted with overseeing the event preparations.
Acknowledging space constraints at the venue, the chief minister-designate said arrangements were being made to telecast the swearing-in ceremony live through LED screens at Congress offices across the state so that party workers and supporters could witness the event.
On the party’s proposal to lay foundation stones for 100 Congress offices across Karnataka, Shivakumar said the initiative would be rolled out in phases in the coming days.
Explaining the decision to hold the oath-taking ceremony at Lok Bhavan instead of the traditional steps of Vidhana Soudha, he said the move was aimed at minimising inconvenience to the public and easing traffic congestion in the city.
