BENGALURU: A day after the expansion of the coalition government cabinet, Congress has been struck by another wave of dissent with leaders going public with their disappointment with the party. While Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was dropped from the cabinet, has decided to quit as MLA, others like BC Patil and Roshan Baig have expressed their disappointment with the party leadership.
B C Patil, who was in a tug of war with M B Patil to make it to the cabinet, took to Twitter on Sunday to speak his mind. The Hirekerur MLA, who, in the past, has minced no words in criticising the party for delaying the cabinet expansion, claimed the support of the community and its religious heads. “Suttur Mutt seer spoke to me on the phone and expressed regret that I wasn’t chosen for the ministry. He asked me to stay strong and expressed his full support to me. We need such seers in the Lingayat community,” he tweeted.
Seniors like Ramalinga Reddy and Roshan Baig, sources suggest, are disappointed with Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao over being sidelined. “They could have made the cut had these two leaders backed them but they chose not to,” the sources said.
While Baig and Reddy have been quiet all along in the hope of being inducted into the cabinet, the snub has prompted them to express dissent publicly. “When considering seniors, they should have assessed their previous performance as ministers, the support they have in the party and constituencies other than theirs as well as the loyalty of not dissenting against the party,” Reddy said.
While Siddaramaiah on Sunday claimed to be in touch with BC Patil, the party is yet to reach out of most dissenting leaders. The biggest grouse among those left out from the cabinet seems to be the indifference of those holding responsible positions in the party. “People like N A Haris, Dr Sudhakar Reddy have been appointed to boards and corporations only as a consolation. Even H K Patil has been made the campaign committee chief to placate him, but everybody knows that such positions mean nothing,” a senior Congress legislator said.