Ready for change if CM wants, says Anand Singh
BENGALURU: Under fire from Opposition parties and civil society, newly-inducted Forest Minister Anand Singh on Friday said that he is ready for a change in portfolio if Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa decides.“If the Chief Minister feels that if I continue as Forest Minister, the state’s forests will get looted and wants to change my portfolio, I am ready for a change,” said the beleaguered minister.
Singh’s comments assume significance as the CM has been drawing flak for allotting the forest ministry to him. Yediyurappa may even be forced to changed Anand Singh’s portfolio to avoid further damage to his government’s image. Also, the Opposition is likely to take up the issue during the legislature session, which starts on Monday.
Senior Congress leaders have already said that they will raise the issue during the session, seeking an explanation from the CM for allotting the portfolio to a person, who, they say, is facing several cases related to mining, and also a case under the Forest Act. Singh, who was inducted into the cabinet last week, was initially given the Food and Civil Supplies ministry, but this was changed later. On Friday, Congress threatened to launch an agitation if the CM fails to change Singh’s portfolio, while the civil society too questioned the CM’s decision. Environmentalists have launched a campaign demanding the CM remove Singh from the post.
Admitting that cases were, in fact, booked against him, the minister, on Friday, reiterated that what the Opposition leaders are saying is what he had already declared in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission. “I am facing 15 cases. I do not want to keep the people of Karnataka in the dark or mislead them. I do not want to indulge in such politics.
However, Opposition leaders and the media should look at the chargesheets filed against me. They can always question me if there is any direct allegation against me (with regard to a case booked under the Forest Act),” he said. He contended that there is no conflict of interest and that he has explained the status of the cases registered against him to the chief minister too.