I too missed minister berth once: DK Shivakumar to unhappy Karnataka MLAs
Ahead of the much-awaited Karnataka Cabinet expansion on Monday, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar appealed for patience among disappointed Congress legislators, saying he too had
Ahead of the much-awaited Karnataka Cabinet expansion on Monday, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar appealed for patience among disappointed Congress legislators, saying he too had once missed out on becoming a minister and later got the opportunity. "There are many MLAs. It is not possible to accommodate everyone. Earlier, I too missed out on a ministerial berth in Siddaramaiah's Cabinet. But didn't I become a minister later? Similarly, we will provide opportunities to everyone in the future," Shivakumar told reporters before heading to Lok Bhavan, where the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place. Read Full Story His remarks came amid growing discontent within the Congress after several senior leaders were left out of the expanded ministry. The resentment surfaced publicly when Indi MLA Yashavantarayagouda V Patil resigned from his legislative post on Monday after failing to secure a Cabinet berth. Patil submitted his resignation to Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani at the Vidhana Soudha.
Soon after, his supporters staged protests, raising slogans and accusing the party leadership of treating him unfairly. KARNATAKA CABINET EXPANSION Two months after taking charge as Chief Minister, Shivakumar is set to induct 20 ministers into his Cabinet, taking the ministry to its full sanctioned strength of 34, including the chief minister. The swearing-in ceremony at Lok Bhavan has been scheduled for 5 pm. The Congress high command has cleared the names of PM Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, K S Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumoourthy, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, SS Mallikarjun, Ajay Singh, N Chaluvaraya Swamy, KM Shivalinge Gowda, HC Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basvaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Laxman Savadi for induction into the ministry. AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal conveyed the high command's approval to the chief minister. An earlier list had included Bhatkal MLA Mankala Vaidya, but he was later replaced by former minister SS Mallikarjun.
No official reason has been given for the last-minute change. The Congress leadership has also approved GS Patil as the new Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and AS Ponnanna as Deputy Speaker. Saleem Ahmed has been named Chairman of the Legislative Council, while Umashree will serve as Deputy Chairperson. The Cabinet expansion includes several notable names. Six of the 20 inductees had served as ministers in the previous Siddaramaiah government. Gayathri Shanthegowda will be the lone woman in the Cabinet after recently being declared elected to the Legislative Council by the Supreme Court. Three children of former Karnataka chief ministers will now be part of the ministry — Yathindra Siddaramaiah, who is already a minister, Madhu Bangarappa, son of former CM S Bangarappa, and Ajay Singh, son of former chief minister N Dharam Singh. Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who joined the Congress from the BJP before the 2023 Assembly polls, and K M Shivalinge Gowda, who switched from the JD(S), have also secured Cabinet berths.
The BriefWire