BENGALURU/HUBBALLI: Not convinced by assurances of the state Congress leaders, a group of ministerial aspirants in the party is planning to meet Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge to bring pressure on the party high command to expand the cabinet before the start of the winter session of the state legislature on December 10.
Though former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao have assured to complete the process before December 10, the ministerial aspirants see no hope of it happening. Siddaramaiah, who is the chairman of the coalition coordination committee, has convened a meeting of the committee on December 5 to discuss the issue.
A senior Congress MLA from northern Karnataka, who is one of the prominent ministerial aspirants, told The New Indian Express, "The party leadership has failed to keep its word on ministry expansion repeatedly over the last six months. AICC president Rahul Gandhi is expected to be free from assembly elections in northern states only after December 7. We see no hope of expansion happening before December 10.”
“Some of us are planning to meet our senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge to convey our demand,” the MLA said. Some of the disgruntled Congress MLAs are even contemplating to meet Rahul Gandhi before December 10 for cabinet expansion.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the coalition government’s coordination committee will meet on December 5 to decide over the long pending cabinet expansion.
Speaking at Hubballi airport on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said that the BJP is daydreaming by stating that the coalition government would fall after cabinet expansion. “A decision on expansion will be taken during December 5 meeting,” he said. “The coalition government is strong, and there is no complaint against me from anyone. Our own MLAs are not as worried as the BJP is over cabinet expansion. Dreams of BS Yeddyurappa and K Eshwarappa of becoming CM will not be fulfilled,” he said.
He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned why the Central government was not implementing the Lokpal Bill. “Prime Minister Modi gives long speeches abroad, but has failed to implement Lokpal Bill,” he said. District minister R V Deshpande said that the BJP is doing politics over Indira Canteen issue.