BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hosted a dinner for a group of 15-16 ministers at his official residence Cauvery on Monday.
Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar did not attend. Siddaramaiah, however, summoned Shivakumar to his office at Vidhana Soudha, apparently to send out a message that there are no differences between them. The duo spoke for a while.
Those who attended the dinner included Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge, Industries Minister MB Patil, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, sources said.
Elections in five states, bypolls to Davanagere South and Bagalkot, and a cabinet reshuffle were discussed at dinner, the sources added. Siddaramaiah is likely to visit Delhi soon to get the Congress high command’s approval for the reshuffle.
Legislators meet CM on internal quota
A delegation of legislators, including ministers representing SC right, Bhovis and Lambanis, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday and requested him not to implement the 15% internal quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs) with a cap of 50%, as it will result in legal complications and injustice to most communities.
This comes ahead of a special cabinet meeting called to decide on the internal quota on March 27.