BANGALORE: Retired IPS officer Kempaiah is likely to be appointed adviser to the Home Department. He is also likely to be given the rank of Minister of State.
A decision in this regard is expected to be taken in the next Cabinet meeting.
A government source told Express that the there have been a lot of deliberations on this, but a final call has not been made yet. Asked about the need to appoint an adviser to the department, sources said it was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision. “There have been such advisers in the past. It is nothing new,” a minister said.
He said the Home Department needs an experienced man like Kempaiah, who could come handy in helping the government deal with problems faced by the police. There have previously been many reports of the possible appointment of Kempaiah, who enjoys a good rapport with Siddaramaiah. The proposal was stalled by reports of strong resistance from Home Minister K J George and a few other ministers.
But it has been put right back on the table with the recent spat between two senior IPS officers and the declining popularity of the Siddaramaiah government following a spate of sex crimes in the state. Many retired IPS officers believe that the government could have handled the spat between Raghavendra Auradkar and P Ravindranath better.