BENGALURU: With his government completing the half-way mark of two-and-a-half years in office, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hosted a dinner for his cabinet colleagues at his residence on Monday night. At the event, he hinted at a cabinet reshuffle if the Congress high command gives its approval, but asked the ministers not to worry about it and to continue to focus on their respective departments.
Since he mentioned the reshuffle and held one-on-one meetings with the ministers when Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stepped out for a while gave rise to speculation, sources said.
This gave enough indication that the CM is in favour of the rejig after the Bihar Assembly polls in mid-November, they added. Many aspirants, including those from Siddaramaiah’s coterie -- Ramadurga MLA Ashok Pattan and Bangarpet MLA S N Narayanaswamy -- have publicly expressed their desire to become ministers expecting the reshuffle soon.
Those who will be dropped are likely to be given posts befitting their profile in the party organisation at the state and national level, a source revealed.
Be pro-people, bring good name: CM to ministers
“It has been two-and-a-half years since the government was formed. Bring reforms in your departments as people have discarded BJP for its misadministration and given power to us. The government should be pro-people and you should work along these lines and bring a good name to your departments,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is said to have suggested to his ministers.
They also discussed roles they need to play, if any, in the Bihar Assembly elections if the party high command assigns them tasks, the sources said. But a minister said that except giving directions to ministers from Bengaluru to involve in the polls of five corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority, and asking other ministers to focus on zilla and taluk panchayat polls, nothing else was discussed at the dinner.
But informed sources said tabling of an order to ban RSS activities on the government premises in the cabinet was also discussed.
Tackling opposition parties, especially BJP, more effectively on certain issues, including their criticism of the government over the five guarantees, was also discussed. It is said that the Chief Minister told ministers that though there was a setback on development work initially after the five guarantees were implemented, the government has been sustaining with the schemes as more avenues to generate revenue were found. He promised more grants for development, they said.
Siddaramaiah also held one-on-one talks with certain ministers after dinner.
Confirming this, Labour Minister Santosh Lad told reporters that the Chief Minister spoke about developments in his department. “The CM took the opinions of individual ministers and I gave details of my department. Others had their own take,” he said, refusing to divulge more.
“There was ragi mudde, gravy, chicken, mutton, idlis, and all in the menu,” the minister said in jest.
The CM also spoke to Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre one on one, sources said.
