BENGALURU: At last, many legislators who were sulking after failing to clinch a berth in the ministry, have a reason to smile ahead of Diwali as they are set to be nominated as heads of boards and corporations.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convinced AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi to give a fair share of these posts to legislators. The process of appointment of heads for government boards and corporations has been delayed as Rahul had approved the proposal and was keen to reserve these posts for party workers as part of the plan to reward those working hard to build the party.
Siddaramaiah, along with KPCC president G Parameshwara and KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao, discussed the issue with Rahul in New Delhi on Monday and succeeded in convincing him.
Siddaramaiah explained the need to assuage the hurt feelings of senior legislators in the larger interest of the party ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls. Sources said names of about 20 legislators have been approved for appointment as heads of various boards and corporations.
They include Malikaiah Guttedar, Shivananda Patil, M T B Nagaraj, R V Devaraj, B R Yavagal and Rahim Khan. Siddaramaiah wants to fill 70 to 80 posts, bulk of them going to party workers.
Nominating members for the Legislative Council too figured during the talks.
There are three vacant slots under the nomination category in the council, for which names of writers Baraguru Ramachandrappa, K Marulasiddappa, former legislator C M Lingappa and businessman K P Nanjundi are doing the rounds.
Women’s commission head resigns
Bengaluru: Manjula Manasa, chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women, has resigned, eight months before her tenure was to end.
While Manjula claimed that she was making way for others, sources said she was personally told by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign from her post. With barely one-and-a-half years left for the next state elections, there is a demand in the Congress to accommodate more people in not just boards and corporations, but commissions as well.
She said she was satisfied with her work for the past two years and felt sad she could not complete her term. She, however, insisted that she wanted to make way for fresh faces.
“During my term, we have submitted reports on illegal abortions, financial condition of women factory workers and missing women. I hope the government will take appropriate measures to implement the recommendations in the reports.”