No reason, only disappointment: E Minister after Karnataka cabinet snub
Karnataka minister and senior Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday voiced disappointment after being left out of the first expansion of Chief Minister DK
Karnataka minister and senior Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday voiced disappointment after being left out of the first expansion of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's Cabinet, saying he had not been told why he was excluded despite his long years of service to the party and the state. In a statement issued after the expansion, the si time MLA said he had stayed committed to the Congress and to the people of Karnataka throughout his political career. Read Full Story His reaction came as the much-awaited Cabinet expansion was marked by confusion over the final list of inductees, the last-minute postponement of MLC Gayathri Shanthegowda's swearing-in and unhappiness among Congress leaders who did not get ministerial berths. Gundu Rao, who served as a minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, was among several senior Congress leaders left out of the expanded Cabinet. Nineteen legislators took oath as ministers at Lok Bhavan even though the Congress high command had approved 20 names, with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office and secrecy. Taking to X, Gundu Rao said his repeated electoral victories showed the trust that people had placed in him and added that he remained grateful for the chance to have served both as a legislator and as a minister.
He also pointed to his long association with the Congress organisation, saying he had worked in the Youth Congress, the District Congress, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and the All India Congress Committee, while remaining loyal to the party and its ideology. "It is disappointing that after so many years of service to the State and the party, I have not been considered to serve the government in this Cabinet. I am disappointed by decisions taken without being given any reason for my exclusion," he wrote on X. Despite being left out, Gundu Rao said he would continue to work for the welfare of the people and the development of Karnataka. Talking to ANI, Dinesh Gundu Rao said he was still searching for an answer as to why he had been dropped from the Cabinet without being given any reason, despite remaining loyal to the party. "The only thing is that they should have told me the reason. I don't know why I have been dropped. Was I a poor performer as a minister? Do I have any corruption charges? Was I not working well for the party?" he asked. Gundu Rao also said he was hurt by the lack of communication before he was dropped from the ministry.
"Even in the previous government, when Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister, I voluntarily told him for three years that he should make somebody else a minister because I wanted to work for the party. Becoming a minister is not the end for me. But the disappointment is that they have not given me a proper reason for dropping me. I hope that, at least in the future, they will tell me why I was dropped. A proper reason should be given. That is the only thing I expect," he told ANI. Several senior leaders from the previous Siddaramaiah government were also kept out of the new Cabinet on Monday, including HC Mahadevappa, HK Patil, K Venkatesh, MC Sudhakar and Laxmi Hebbalkar. Those inducted into the Cabinet were PM Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, KS Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumurthy, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, SS Mallikarjun, Ajay Singh, N Chaluvaraya Swamy, KM Shivalinge Gowda, HC Balakrishna, Basvaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Laxman Savadi. Earlier on Monday, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had conveyed the Congress high command's approval of 20 names. However, Gayathri Shanthegowda, whose name was on the approved list, was not sworn in, leaving the Cabinet without a woman minister.
The BriefWire