Bengaluru: I will remain in politics till my last breath, said Karnataka former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday. After his resignation for the post of Chief Minister he asserted that he would continue to remain in active politics.

He stated that he would work to protect the Constitution for the rest of his life. He submitted his resignation to the Secretary to the Governor at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru. In his address at the press conference he said that
I will remain in politics till my last breath. I will continue to fight against communal forces because they are against the Constitution. Had the Constitution not existed, I would not have received an education or become a minister and Chief Minister. I would have remained a shepherd, he said emotionally.

I will continue my fight against forces that threaten the Constitution and against communal forces. I will continue my struggle for equality and social justice, he said.

I have always maintained, both inside and outside the Assembly, that whenever the high command directs me, I will tender my resignation, he said. Two days ago, the high command asked me to step down and, keeping my word, I have submitted my resignation, he added.

Our party enjoys the support of 138 MLAs and others have also extended support to the Government. We continue to have a full majority. The Governor must now provide an opportunity to the next Chief Minister to form the Government, he added. He also thanked Congress leaders and party workers for supporting him throughout his political career.

Voters are our gods. I had the opportunity to serve seven crore people of Karnataka. I got the opportunity to become Chief Minister twice and also served as Leader of the Opposition two times, he said. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on this occasion, he added.

Recalling his memories with the Congress party and said that I joined the Congress party in 2006. Since then, Congress workers, party leaders, legislators and Members of Parliament have shown affection towards me and created opportunities for me. I convey my gratitude to all of them.

I have faced every challenge honestly. I have never compromised on our State’s water, land and language. During my eight years as Chief Minister and also during my tenure as Leader of the Opposition, I always stood by these principles, he emphasised.

I would like to thank the Congress party and Sonia Gandhi. When I was expelled from the JD(S) and was leading the AHINDA movement, senior Congress leader Ahmad Patel helped arrange my meeting with Sonia Gandhi, after which I decided to join the Congress party. At that time, Mallikarjun Kharge was the Karnataka Congress President. Along with me, eight MLAs joined the Congress party. I am grateful to all those MLAs, he said.