Denying media reports on the possibility of Cabinet expansion, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said there is no such plan on the cards.
He was speaking to reporters after attending the National Integration Day programme organised on the occasion of the 96th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the pedestals of the Vidhana Soudha here on Tuesday.
He said he had met AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday and discussed matters of the party and the government. “The issue of Cabinet reshuffle did not figure in the meeting.”
However, he confirmed that Rahul gave some directions to take initiatives of doling out powers to rank and file of the party by nominating party workers to the state-owned boards and corporations.
“The process of nominating the party workers to various boards and corporations would be initiated shortly,” Siddaramaiah said. According to him, the Rahul Gandhi holds such meetings once in every three months to take stock of the political situation in the state.
Denying that the party MLAs are mounting pressure against removal of bogus BPL cards from the beneficiaries’ list, he said, “The Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has received more than 30 lakh fresh applications seeking new cards. All eligible families would be issued BPL cards,” he added.