{"id":27000,"date":"2025-12-30T13:20:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T13:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/30\/twisting-my-comments-dk-shivakumar-clarifies-we-dont-want-keralites-remark-politics-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T13:20:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T13:20:44","slug":"twisting-my-comments-dk-shivakumar-clarifies-we-dont-want-keralites-remark-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/30\/twisting-my-comments-dk-shivakumar-clarifies-we-dont-want-keralites-remark-politics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Twisting My Comments\u2019: DK Shivakumar Clarifies \u2018We Don&#8217;t Want Keralites\u2019 Remark | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"story-9800785\">\n<p><span class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-3759419209\">Last Updated:<\/span><time class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-3759419209\">December 30, 2025, 18:01 IST<\/time><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"asubttl-9800785\" class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430 asubttl-schema\">DK Shivakumar clarified his &#8220;we don&#8217;t want Keralites&#8221; remark, stating it targeted Kerala government&#8217;s interference, not its people.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artsharwrp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news18.co\/gnps-en-btn\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"jsx-91f4da8d48c13a79 gglebtn bgprpl\"\/><\/p>\n<div id=\"artshare\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artshare\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b stickdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b deskwrapstkdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b fontchange\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/font.svg\" height=\"30px\" width=\"30px\" alt=\"font\" title=\"font\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b lazyload\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430\">\n<figure class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430 amimg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister and state KPCC president. (PTI)\" title=\"DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister and state KPCC president. (PTI)\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=400&amp;height=225\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430\"\/><\/p>\n<p>DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister and state KPCC president. (PTI)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">Karnataka deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday issued a clarification over his controversial \u201cwe don\u2019t want Keralites&#8221; remark, saying that it was directed at the Kerala government\u2019s interference in Karnataka\u2019s affairs and not against the people of Kerala.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">While speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, the deputy Chief Minister slammed Kerala BJP chief and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and said that the latter was trying to mislead people by twisting his statement.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\">Emphasising his ties with the people of Kerala, Shivakumar said there was a cordial relationship between him and Keralites. He further said that he would campaign for the upcoming polls in Kerala and the Congress would form the government there.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">\u201cThere is a cordial relationship between me and Keralites. The people of Kerala like me and I have respect for them. I will go there for election campaign and our government will be formed there. Hence BJP is trying to create confusion. Let them not indulge in this. Our party leaders have given us suggestions and we accept it,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s The Row?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"5\" class=\"story_para_5\">Shivakumar\u2019s clarification came after BJP hit out at the Congress leader over his remarks against people from Kerala in connection with the Kogilu encroachment eviction row.<\/p>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\">The controversy began when a reporter asked Shivakumar about criticism from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over demolitions. Vijayan had described the action as \u201canti-minority aggressive politics&#8221; and compared it to a \u201cbulldozer raj&#8221;, alleging that Muslim residents were being targeted.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\">Reacting to a question on Kerala\u2019s role in the issue, Shivakumar said, \u201cWe don\u2019t want any Keralites. Our Chief Minister is there, let him do his job.&#8221; The comment quickly triggered backlash, with the BJP calling it an \u201canti-Kerala&#8221; statement.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8\" class=\"story_para_8\">Reacting strongly, Chandrasekhar accused the Congress of practising divisive politics. He alleged that the party seeks to divide people on the basis of caste, geography, religion, and language. \u201cThis Congress \u2018leader\u2019 is exactly what Rahul Gandhi ordered. For a party that talks of Bharat Jodo and the Constitution, its politics is about dividing people using caste, geography, religion and language,&#8221; Chandrasekhar said in a post on X.<\/p>\n<p id=\"9\" class=\"story_para_9\">BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also attacked Shivakumar, questioning whether the Congress leadership in Kerala accepted the remark. In a post on X, Poonawalla said the statement amounted to an insult to Kerala and asked whether Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, an MP from Kerala, agreed with the comment.<\/p>\n<p id=\"10\" class=\"story_para_10\">Defending the Kogilu demolition drive, Shivakumar said the action was taken against recent encroachments on government \u201cgomala&#8221; land earmarked for solid waste management. He said the land was unsafe for habitation and that notices had been issued before the demolitions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"11\" class=\"story_para_11\">The deputy Chief Minister said relocation had been offered to genuine residents and claimed that only a small number of those affected were local residents. He also alleged that land sharks had collected between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh from people by illegally selling or allotting land, and said strict action would be taken against them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430 atbtlink fp\"><span>First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rs\">\n<p>December 30, 2025, 18:01 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430 brdcrmb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/politics\/\">politics<\/a>  <span class=\"brdout\"> \u2018Twisting My Comments\u2019: DK Shivakumar Clarifies \u2018We Don&#8217;t Want Keralites\u2019 Remark<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"coral-wrap\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f \">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coral-cont\">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coltoptxt\">Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3462053430 rmbtn news18_read_more\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/politics\/twisting-my-comments-dk-shivakumar-clarifies-we-dont-want-keralites-remark-ws-l-9800785.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:December 30, 2025, 18:01 IST DK Shivakumar clarified his &#8220;we don&#8217;t want Keralites&#8221; remark, stating it targeted Kerala government&#8217;s interference, not its people. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister and state KPCC president. (PTI) Karnataka deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday issued a clarification over his controversial \u201cwe don\u2019t want Keralites&#8221; remark, saying&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}