BENGALURU, Dec. 26 -- Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday sought to quell speculation around his meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, insisting that the discussion had nothing to do with the leadership question in the state and was limited to the Centre's decision to replace the rural employment guarantee scheme.

The meeting at Kharge's residence came amid heightened chatter about a possible change of the chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20. Shivakumar, however, said he spoke only in his capacity as state Congress president ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for December 27.

"There is no need to do it, I w...