Bengaluru:
The political fallout from Karnataka’s cabinet expansion has intensified, with several senior leaders expressing strong resentment after being denied ministerial berths.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, however, is unfazed, reportedly saying that “if someone resigns, I will accept it within a few minutes”, adding that he will call the MLAs and speak to each one individually.
“I have instructed all the ministers that they should immediately begin visiting all drought-affected areas from tomorrow itself. Don’t waste time. From tomorrow itself, you should visit all the districts. Have given instructions to all the officers to make arrangements for all the site visits. Everyone should get involved in this work. You must go to all the districts,” the Chief Minister told his new ministers.
Nineteen new MLAs on Monday took the oath as ministers, two months after Shivakumar took charge.
To those who did not make the cut, the Chief Minister advised them to be patient, citing his own example.
“Look, those who are resigning are all doing politics. No one can stop people who want to resign. They need a party, and they also need a future, that is with the party. If there is a party, this is it. I could have resigned during Dharam Singh’s time, or at different times, or during Siddaramaiah’s time when all my ministers were sidelining me. Was I not patient, even with G Parameshwara,” Shivakumar said.
The Chief Minister also threw in some history to make his point.
“During Virendra Patil’s time it was not given to Bangarappa, it was not given to Kharge Saheb, it was not given to Dharam Singh. Didn’t all of them eventually become Chief Ministers?” Shivakumar said.
It is to be noted that Mallikarjun Kharge never became the chief Minister, though he is the present Congress chief.
“In such situations, everyone has to be patient. The party is very important. If someone resigns, I will accept it within a few minutes,” Shivakumar underscored, adding that he is revamping all Boards and Corporations.
“Now, everyone should submit their resignations. After that, I will first induct our workers into the Boards and Corporations. Once all the workers are accommodated, I will call the MLAs and speak to each one individually,” he said.
In a bid to contain the discontent, the Chief Minister has tasked senior leaders with reaching out to the aggrieved MLAs.
Ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy and HC Balakrishna were assigned the responsibility of convincing M Krishnappa. The two ministers visited his residence early Tuesday morning, but the effort proved unsuccessful.
M Krishnappa was unavailable, forcing the ministers to return without meeting him, highlighting the deepening dissatisfaction within the Congress ranks following the cabinet expansion.
A group of party office-bearers from the Vijayanagar Assembly constituency submitted a collective resignation, protesting the denial of a cabinet berth to senior leader and MLA M Krishnappa.
In a resignation letter addressed to Karnataka Congress chief BK Hariprasad, dated August 4, the leaders alleged that an injustice had been done to Krishnappa by excluding him from the state cabinet.
The letter states that all Block Congress presidents, ward presidents, women’s wing presidents, SC/ST and Minority wing presidents, divisional presidents, Youth Congress presidents, Guarantee Scheme committee presidents, and office-bearers of various party units from the Vijayanagar constituency have decided to resign collectively in protest.
Even as the position for a woman to be inducted into the cabinet remains vacant, lobbying has begun for the post. Sandur MLA Annapurna Tukaram, along with her father, met the Chief Minister.
Congress MLA Nayana Motamma has raised her concerns over women’s representation, saying there are 5 women MLAs not even one has been given a ministerial post.
Congress MLA SR Srinivas has announced that he will resign as Chairman of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), expressing disappointment after missing out on a place in the Karnataka Cabinet.
“People were saying I have to become a minister, but those who had to say it haven’t, so I can’t do anything, in politics it’s difficult for an ordinary farmer’s son like me to come up, you need some godfathers, or you need to do something wrong and earn money, you have to learn such tricks or its difficult in politics, it’s been proved yet again,” SR Srinivas said.
Some were willing to change their minds.
Congress MLA Belur Gopalkrishna who had threatened to resign met the Chief Minister at his house and then decided to drop his plan of resignation
“Yesterday I was disappointed and decided to resign. Because they said will be given a ministerial post in the second half. The Chief Minister called me last night and asked me to meet him. So I have visited him. Now after speaking to him I have decided not to resign. Will be with him and help the party grow,” Belur Gopalkrishna said.
Former Congress minister and MLA KN Rajanna’s and his son, MLC Rajendra, were among the disappoointed leaders.
“I expected father to get inducted into the cabinet. Tumkur is a big district. We either expected me or my father would get. But we cant do anything now. We have abide by the party’s decision. One MLA has resigned and many are planning, its their personal decision. Sometimes its wrong to speak directly, and KN Rajanna is facing issues because of it. We expected him to get it but he missed it,” Rajendra said.
