SM Krishna lived a full life: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar pays tribute to his mentor

"SM Krishna's death is not something to be mourned, it is something to be happy about. He lived a full life for 92 years, what more can one expect. Hope God will give us strength to lead a similar life," he said.

"Birth is accidental, death is mandatory. What we do in between is important. He lived a long, healthy and purposeful life except for the last few months of illness. I have a very close connection with SM Krishna. I have a lot of memories and learnings from my association with him," Shivakumar fondly recalled.

"I started my political career as a student leader along with Bangarappa. When he had to resign from the party due to some reasons, I went to him to seek his advice on the way forward. Instead of asking us to join his new political party, he told us to go with S M Krishna. My association which started like this stood the test of time till the end. He treated me like his son politically," he said.

Recalling how SM Krishna entered the Upper House of the Parliament, the Deputy CM said, "TB Jayachandra and I went to Narasimha Rao ji and sought a seat for SM Krishna for Rajya Sabha. After a lot of reluctance, we managed to convince him to deny a ticket to a sitting MP and give it to SM Krishna."

"I was the General Secretary when Dharam Singh was the Party President. TB Jayachandra, CM Lingappa, Shivamurthy and Nafeeza camped in Delhi for 3 months to convince Sonia Gandhi to make the party president. The rest is history as we went on to form a government with a thumping majority," he noted.

Speaking about his journey to become minister, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, "I myself prepared the list of ministers in front of SM Krishna and the list was sent to the High command. When the list was sent to the Governor, Jayachandra and my name were not there. I then went to an astrologer and he asked me to grab the power rather than wait for it. Later, I barged into SM Krishna's house and demanded that I want to become a minister. The Governor was informed at 6 am in the morning to stop the swearing-in ceremony and my name was included in the list after deliberations with the high command," he revealed.

Replying to Shivakumar's comment on grabbing power, LoP R Ashoka asked, "You seem to believe in grabbing power rather than waiting for it. Your astrologer tells you can become a CM only up to January, will you grab the CM's post now?"

Rebutting Ashoka, Shivakumar quipped, "If we go by the same astrologer, 25 of the legislators sitting on that side of the aisle will shift here."

"When Rajkumar was kidnapped, I got a call from SM Krishna around 11:30 in the night. He was very worried. When we went into the root cause, we realized it was the sandalwood which had created Veerappan. SM Krishna brought in policy changes to allow farmers to grow sandalwood," the Deputy CM disclosed.

Recalling his close-yet-firm association with industrialists, he said, "SM Krishna had a close association with industrialists. He was close to Mallya, J P Narayanaswamy, Adikeshavalu, and Thimme Gowda among others. When he was the CM, he announced the establishment of Karnataka State Beverages Corporation and it was met with stiff opposition from the liquor industry. In spite of his close proximity to the industrialists, he stuck to his guns. This move today generates Rs 35,000 crore revenue for the state. He always kept the interest of the state first."

"JH Patel government had approved monorail, but I had opposed it and suggested metro rail for Bengaluru. I literally fought with SMK to bring metro rail instead of monorail. He made me the head of a committee to study metro train for Bengaluru. We, along with Ananthkumar, met Prime Minister Vajpayee and made our case. Rest is history," he added.

"It was SM Krishna who started the Global Investors' meet in Karnataka. When Vajpayee came to lay the foundation stone for Bengaluru airport, he said that foreign dignitaries are not visiting Bengaluru before Delhi appreciating the heights Bengaluru had reached," Shivakumar said.

"My relationship with him was based on trust. He believed in me. From the days of getting elected for Rajya Sabha till the last Cabinet meet, he lent his ears to my suggestions. So have I. Looking at my dressing, he once told his friend R T Narayanan to get some dresses for me. My dressing has changed dramatically since then," he fondly recalled.

"In spite of so many challenges during his tenure as a CM of Karnataka, he has left behind a legacy difficult to match. The best tribute we can pay is following his ideals," the Deputy CM concluded.

Krishna, 92, was Karnataka Chief Minister from October 11, 1999, to May 28, 2004, and also served as External Affairs Minister during the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2009 to 2012, and as Maharashtra Governor. He joined the BJP in March 2017, ending his nearly 50-year-long association with the Congress. He retired from active politics last year. (ANI)