BENGALURU: Amid speculations over the leadership tussle in the Karnataka Congress government, the change in the state intelligence chief is being interpreted in political circles as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sending out a strong message that he will continue at the helm of affairs.
Central Range IGP Labhu Ram was appointed IGP Intelligence, replacing ADGP Ravi S, on Wednesday.
According to sources, the CM was not happy as “intelligence failure” on certain occasions, both on the law and order and the political front. In February, a massive protest was held in Dharwad demanding that the government take steps to fill vacancies during which they had burnt posters and banners of Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah was also not happy that he was not apprised properly about the going ons of the Shivakumar camp, according to a source. He had no information on their meetings and some of them also visiting the party high command in Delhi.
In three years of his tenure, the CM had four IPS officers, including K V Sharath Chandra and Hemanth Nimbalkar, in the critical post. The alleged MUDA scam was the biggest set back to him for which he had also blamed it on the state intelligence’s failure to keep a tab on his rivals within the party and outside.
Any CM having four officers as state intelligence chief is a record in Karnataka which apparently indicated a trust deficiency, observed political analysts.