The day after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy expanded his six-month old Cabinet by inducting eight members from the Congress, the discontent among the aspirants has hit the grand old party and sparked off a rebellion.
The new Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy on Saturday at the Glass House at Raj Bhavan by Governor Vajubhai Vala amid open expression of dissent by several Congress legislators who were left out of the exercise. The new Ministers are Satish Jarkiholi, MB Patil, CS Shivalli, MTB Nagaraj, E Tukaram, PT Parameshwar Naik, Rahim Khan and RB Thimmapur, with seven of them picked from north Karnataka to address concerns of the region and counter the BJP in its area of influence.
The disgruntled MLAs and their supporters came out openly and protested the move of the Congress. Sowmya Reddy, an MLAs from Jayanagara , Bengaluru and daughter of senior Congress MLA and former Minister Ramalinga Reddy, expressed resentment over her father not being considered for the post, pointing out his contribution for the party's growth in Bengaluru city.