Live
- GMR Airports Unveils AI-Powered Digital Twin Platform to Transform Airport Operations
- India poised to become leading maritime player: PM Modi
- Top Causes of Kidney Stones and How to Recognize Silent Symptoms
- India’s renewable energy capacity logs 14.2 pc growth at 213.7 GW
- Winter Session of Odisha Assembly adjourned sine die
- Biden calls Trump's tariff approach 'major mistake'
- After Drama Over Eknath Shinde’s Chief Minister Race, Maharashtra Cabinet Formation Faces New Tensions
- Egyptian FM, Blinken discuss recent developments in Syria
- Iran's supreme leader says Syria's developments result of US-Israeli 'plot'
- Elon Musk to Purchase $100 Million Luxury Mansion Next to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Report Reveals
Siddaramaiah drops 14 ministers, inducts 13
In a major revamp, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday sacked 14 ministers and inducted 13 members into his Council of Ministers. With this ‘spring cleaning in the monsoon’, the Congress high command thinks that the Siddaramaiah Cabinet of Ministers is now battle-ready for 2018, or at least that is the impression the party wants to give.
Will this rejig win K’taka for Cong?
Bengaluru : In a major revamp, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday sacked 14 ministers and inducted 13 members into his Council of Ministers. With this ‘spring cleaning in the monsoon’, the Congress high command thinks that the Siddaramaiah Cabinet of Ministers is now battle-ready for 2018, or at least that is the impression the party wants to give.
Nine ministers of Cabinet rank and four Ministers of State were inducted at the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan with Governor Vajubhai Vala administering the oath of office and secrecy. Ahead of the swearing in, Siddaramaiah recommended sacking of 14 ministers which the Governor accepted.
Tanveer Sait, Kagodu Thimmappa, Ramesh Kumar, Basavaraj Raya Reddy, H Y Meti, S S Mallikarjun, M R Seetharam, Santosh Lad and Ramesh Jarkiholi were inducted as Cabinet rank ministers. Priyank Kharge, Rudrappa Lamani, Eshwar Khandre and Pramod Madhwaraj were sworn-in as Ministers of State.
Thimmappa and Ramesh Kumar are former Assembly Speakers, while Kharge is the son of Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. The ministers who faced the axe are: Qamarul Islam, Shamanoor Shivashankarappa, V Srinivasa Prasad, MH Ambareesh, Vinay Kumar Sorake, Satish Jarkiholi, Baburao Chinchansoor, Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, SR Patil, Manohar Tahasildhar, K Abayachandra Jain, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Kimmane Ratnakar, PT Parameshwar Naik.
Among the prominent ones to lose their ministerial berths are Revenue Minister Srinivasa Prasad, Labour Minister PTP Naik and Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake. With the reshuffle, the Congress appears to have made an early start to prepare itself for the Assembly elections, which are due in 2018. Karnataka is presently the only large state where the Congress party is in power.
The changes, however, did not go unopposed. On Saturday, supporters of Karnataka ministers V Srinivas Prasad and Ambareesh took to the streets in protest after reports about their possible removal came in. Ministers who were seen as non-performers or were hit by some controversy or the other were shown the door, according to party sources, who also said the exercise was to inject "more dynamic members" into the ministry.
The Chief Minister has embarked upon the exercise more than three years after assuming office on 13 May, 2013. Siddaramaiah received the green signal from the Congress high command on Saturday after intense discussions with party president Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi, who authorised him to carry out the rejig. With the reshuffle, the ministry has strength of 33, one less than the constitutional limit. However, it remains to be seen if the reshuffle will be followed up by smart electoral work.
