BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday evening hinted that the expansion of his cabinet may further get delayed as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and other central leaders of the party, were detained and taken away by the police after leading a sit-in protest outside PM Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi.
The CM said that he will be returning to Bengaluru on Wednesday. It is to be seen whether he holds talks with the Congress high command leaders before boarding a special flight at 11 am or not.
“If I am given the opportunity today, I am ready to finalise the list today. I do not want to postpone it. I had to come on Monday. I had to do my duty in Hassan (attend the funeral of former PM HD Deve Gowda’s wife Chennamma).That is why I came to Delhi on Tuesday. It was decided to hold a meeting on Tuesday night. But our leaders have been arrested,” Shivakumar said.
Shivakumar said that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s permission was obtained to expand the cabinet and hold the swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers on Wednesday.
“Today, our leaders were arrested while protesting. When the police tried to drag me,Rahul Gandhi warned them not to touch the Chief Minister. Then he appealed to me, and I stepped aside,” he elaborated.
When asked about the yardstick Rahul Gandhi has in mind in selecting the new ministers, he said, “Will anyone discuss the expansion of the cabinet in front of the media? Didn’t Boseraju become a minister even though he was not an MLA? Didn’t Chandrashekhar get elected in Krishna’s government? Didn’t mediapersons become MLCs and MPs?”The CM said that he wishes to fill all the 20 vacant berths.“There is no meaning in keep some posts vacant,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms had begun preparations to hold the swearing-in ceremony at the Glass House in Lok Bhavan at 2 pm on Wednesday. The governor’s office, however, was informed by the CMO that the swearing-in has been deferred.
Siddaramaiah had proposed that 10 of the new 20 ministers should be experienced senior MLAs, while Venugopal suggested that only five seniors can be accommodated and the remaining 15 should be new faces following Rahul’s instructions, party sources told The New Indian Express.
The AICC had given set up a committee headed by MP Sasikanth Senthil to examine the recommendations given by the state leaders. The committee gave room to newcomers in the cabinet and submitted the final report to Rahul, who later held discussions with Kharge. According to sources, the committee recommended that 14 young MLAs below the age of 50 be made ministers.
“This time, there is a possibility of inducting three women ministers. Names of Arathi Krishna, Umashree, Laxmi Hebbalkar, Nayana Motamma, Roopakala Shashidar, and Kaneez Fatima are being discussed,” sources added.