Ready to shoulder any responsibility: Siddaramaiah

Bangalore, Sep 3 (UNI) Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah today said he was ready to shoulder any responsibility given by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Speaking to newspersons here, Mr Siddaramaiah, who returned from Delhi after holding talks with Ms Gandhi and other national leaders on the appointment of new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, said the name of the new chief for the state unit would be announced within two days.

''I have met the Central leaders including Ahmed Patel, Prithviraj Chauhan, besides Ms Gandhi, and conveyed my views on the appointment of the new KPCC President,'' he added.

Denying the reports that he had imposed certain conditions for accepting the President's post, Mr Siddaramaiah, who had joined the Congress after rebelling against JD(S) President H D Deve Gowda, said, ''I am ready to work in any capacity to serve the party in the state.'' The post of the KPCC President had been vacant since June after Mr Mallikarjun Kharge resigned, following the party's debacle in the May Assembly elections.

The party high command had taken the initiative to fill the post, as the byelections to seven Assembly seats, which fell vacant following resignation of sitting members to join the ruling BJP, were due in November this year.

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