Senior Congress leader and minister Ramalinga Reddy on Friday resigned from the DK Shivakumar-led Cabinet, expressing displeasure over the portfolio allocated to him.
Reddy, who was assigned the Water Resources portfolio during the Cabinet reshuffle, said he stepped down as minister as he could not work against his conscience after being denied the Bengaluru Development portfolio he had reportedly been promised.
“I will remain as an MLA and will not resign from the Congress,” Reddy said after tendering his resignation. “I was promised the Bengaluru Development portfolio. I cannot work against my conscience, so I am resigning as minister,” he said in Bengaluru.
He said, "How long can I tolerate this humiliation and what else were options before me?"
The development comes a day after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar allocated portfolios to his 13 ministers late on Thursday night.
Sources said Reddy had been adamant about getting the Bengaluru Development portfolio and was upset after being assigned Water Resources instead. The senior leader is also learnt to have walked out of the Cabinet meeting held on Thursday to finalise ministerial responsibilities.
During the meeting, Reddy reportedly reminded the Chief Minister of an assurance made in 2023 that he would be given charge of Bengaluru Development whenever a Cabinet reshuffle took place.
While stepping down from the ministerial post, Reddy clarified that he would continue as a legislator and remain with the Congress party, signalling that his resignation was limited to his role in the Cabinet.
The resignation is likely to trigger fresh political ripples within the ruling Congress government, which has already been grappling with internal dissatisfaction over portfolio distribution.
