Amid protests by supporters of aspirants, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expanded his Ministry by inducting 28 Ministers on Saturday. In fact, Siddaramaiah has in a way succeeded in keeping the tainted MlAs away from the Congress Ministry.
After confabulations and hectic parleys, Siddaramaiah expanded his Cabinet by inducting old hands as well as new blood appeasing caste and creed in the hierarchy.
As none of the MlCs were accommodated, there were outburst of anger and they have vowed to take it to Delhi. The MlCs were conspicuous by their absence and also DK Shivakumar and Bellary mining baron Anil lad were absent with their supporters venting their anger against the Chief Minister and State Congress president G Parameshwara.
There were protests in front of former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s residence by the supporters of DK Shivakumar who could not make it to the Cabinet as the Chief Minister kept the tainted MlAs at bay.
Mining baron and Rajya Sabha member Anil lad, elected from Bellary city, former working president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee DK Shivakumar and R Roshan Baig failed to make it, in the wake of some pressure from within the Congress to start off with a “clean slate” by denying ministership to the “tainted” ones.
However, Anil’s cousin Santosh lad was included in the Ministry. Twenty Ministers were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers and the remaining eight as Ministers of State by Governor HR Bhardwaj at Glass House in Raj Bhavan, in the presence of Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G Parameshwara, whose bid to get the Deputy Chief Minister’s post failed.
The new Cabinet wasted no time and held its first meeting this afternoon. Veteran Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa has been chosen Speaker and the Assembly session is expected to begin on May 29.
later Siddaramaiah told the media that he had given representation to all based on caste, religion and region. He said, “We have not kept anybody out. Whatever the Cabinet we wanted, High Command has approved it. That Cabinet is formed”.
The Cabinet Ministers are: RV Deshpande, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, TB Jayachandra, Ramalinga Reddy, Prakash Hukkeri, Qamarul Islam, HK Patil, V Srinivas Prasad, HC Mahadevappa, HS Mahadeva Prasad, KJ George, Vinay Kumar Sorake, Ramanath Rai, Baburao Chinchanasur, MH Ambareesh, Shivaraj Thangadagi, UT Khader, MB Patil, Satish Jharkiholi and H Anjaneya. The Ministers of State are: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna Byregowda, SP Rudrappa Patil, K Abhay Chandra Jail, Umashree, T Parameshwar Naik, Santosh lad, and Kimmane Ratnakara.
As the swearing-in ceremony was on in Bangalore Raj Bhavan, protests broke out in parts of Karnataka as supporters of the Congress leaders who failed to get berth in the Cabinet expansion affected by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave vent to their anger.
In the district headquarters town of Yadgir, Congress workers ransacked the party office and set afire windows over denial of ministership to senior leader AB Maalaka Reddy. In Ramanagara and Mandya, Congress workers held dharna demanding that DK Shivakumar, former working president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, be included in the Ministry.
A supporter of Tanveer Sait sought to set himself ablaze in Mysore, where the Congress workers also staged a demonstration.
A Congress leader told The Pioneer, many districts did not get any representation in the Cabinet as contrary to the claims of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He said, “You can see yourself. What has happened is gross injustice to people who have served the party for ages. Even now there are many tainted in the Cabinet.”