Countdown begins for Karnataka’s Cabinet expansion
The countdown appears to have begun for the second round of the Karnataka Cabinet expansion, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and
The countdown appears to have begun for the second round of the Karnataka Cabinet expansion, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president B.K. Hariprasad beginning consultations with the Congress high command in New Delhi on Tuesday. With the Karnataka government having convened the Monsoon Session of the legislature from August 6, the Congress is expected to finalise the list of around 20 legislators to be inducted into the Cabinet within the next day or two. Though there was no official communication on the date and timing of the swearing-in ceremony, sources said that Lok Bhavan has been asked to be ready to host the programme within the next day or two.
In-charge Ministers The government is also keen to expedite the Cabinet expansion so that district in-charge Ministers can be appointed to review the drought situation in the wake of the inadequate monsoon across the State. Discussions on the Cabinet expansion, however, were delayed on Tuesday as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress MPs participated in a protest near the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak. Shivkumar too joined the protest. The protest followed the confrontation between youth and the police during Monday’s march to Parliament.
Party sources said the consultations on the Karnataka Cabinet expansion are expected to conclude on Wednesday, with the swearing-in ceremony likely to be held closer to the weekend. Camping in Delhi Even as the State's top leaders met the Central leadership, nearly 40 legislators from Karnataka were camping in New Delhi, lobbying for a berth. Sources said the State leadership has broadly arrived at a consensus on the list after consultations with Mr. Kharge and AICC general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. The proposed expansion is expected to strike a balance between senior and first-time legislators while accommodating competing caste, regional and political interests across the 20 vacancies in the Cabinet.
Speaker’s post While a decision on the appointment of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is still pending, sources indicated that two or three women legislators are likely to be inducted into the Ministry. The Governor is expected to be informed about the swearing-in schedule once Mr. Gandhi gives his final approval to the list of Ministers. The first round of discussions on the expansion, scheduled in New Delhi last week, could not take place as Mr. Kharge had to return to Bengaluru owing to a family emergency.
The BriefWire