BENGALURU: Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is in New Delhi to meet Congress high command leaders amid reports that he is miffed over his portfolio. According to informed sources, Gowda is unhappy as key agencies such as the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) still remain under Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s control.
Gowda is currently in the national capital with a few Congress legislators who aspire to become ministers when Shivakumar expands his cabinet. They are awaiting appointments with senior party leaders to discuss their concerns and political aspirations.
This development comes days after Shivakumar took oath as the CM along with 13 ministers.
Earlier, BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy (Major and Medium Irrigation) and Devanahalli MLA KH Muniyappa (Food and Civil Supplies) had expressed displeasure over the portfolios allotted to them.
According to Congress sources, Gowda plans to meet the Congress high command leaders and seek the revenue portfolio, which he held in the previous Siddaramaiah cabinet.
The Revenue Department is currently headed by Deputy CM Dr G Parameshwara.
Gowda is said to be unwilling to continue with the Bengaluru Development portfolio unless BDA and BMRDA are brought under his charge.
Gowda is accompanied in Delhi by Congress MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Srinivas Mane and TB Jayachandra, who are lobbying for ministerial berths. Jayachandra has been appointed as the Special Representative for Karnataka in Delhi, a post that he had when Siddaramaiah was the CM.
Sources said Gowda and Rizwan met Siddaramaiah at his residence on Monday night before leaving for Delhi.
Meanwhile, Muniyappa is said to have once again expressed his displeasure over the portfolio to LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who was in Benglauru to attend AICC Secretary Suraj Hegde’s last rites on Tuesday. Muniyappa is demanding that he be made the Social Welfare Minister.
It can be noted that Ramalinga Reddy had tendered his resignation demanding that he be made the Bengaluru Development Minister. But later, he withdrew his resignation after Shivakumar’s intervention.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar and Dr G Parameshwara are going to Delhi on Wednesday, where they are expected to discuss with the party top brass the cabinet expansion, which is likely to be done after the June 18 Rajya Sabha and MLC polls.
Meanwhile, Minister for Energy and Tourism KJ George has said that he has not expressed any dissatisfaction over his portfolios. “I am fully committed to working under the leadership of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and contributing towards the effective functioning of the government. My sole focus is on serving the people of Karnataka and supporting the government’s development agenda,” George said, dismissing reports in a section of the media.
CM to attend NITI Aayog meet in Delhi
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is scheduled to visit New Delhi on June 10 and 11 to meet Congress central leaders and attend the NITI Aayog meeting. The CM is scheduled to leave for the national capital at 9.30 am on Wednesday.
He is likely to meet Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, and other senior leaders of the party on Wednesday. Shivakumar is visiting the AICC, NSUI, Indian Youth Congress, and All-India Mahila Congress offices and will hold a dinner meeting with senior IAS officers at the Karnataka Bhavan.
On Thursday, the CM will attend the 11th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog. In 2025, the then CM Siddaramaiah had skipped the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog citibg prior commitments as a reason for abstaining from the meeting and had sent a message to be presented at the meeting chaired by PM.
