Portfolios split open Cong camp

ANGRY CONG MLAS OVERLOOKED FOR MINISTERIAL POSTS PUBLICLY SPEAK OUT, THREATEN TO QUIT THE PARTY

BENGALURU: Disgruntled Congress MLAS, angered at being overlooked for ministerial posts in the Cabinet expansion of the Congress-janata Dal (Secular) government, are threatening to destabilise the party if they are not accommodated soon in the six vacant berths.

At the forefront of the dissidence is former minister and leader of the separate Lingayat religon movement MB Patil. The MLA from Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district on Friday said he would not settle for anything less than the deputy chief minister’s post. Patil’s public criticism came in the backdrop of parleys between him and senior state leaders, including CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy who visited his house. Earlier, deputy CM and state Congress president G Parameshwara also met Patil.

After the meeting, Kumaraswamy said he met Patil as the leader of the coalition government and to ensure it did not face any troubles. “I have no part to play in the internal decisions of Congress, but I met Patil as the leader of the coalition government. It is now my duty to ensure that the feelings of these leaders are conveyed to the Congress so that they can address it,” he said.

Among those who have been angered by their exclusion are former minister HK Patil, All India Congress Committee secretary Satish Jarkiholi, Veerashaiva Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Patil, a close aide of former CM Siddaramaiah, said his pride had been hurt by the exclusion. “Kumaraswamy is the CM and leader of the coalition but he has got nothing to do with the internal decisions of Congress,” Patil said. “I am not alone, there are 15-20 people with me, like Satish and Ramesh Jarkiholi. We are discussing how to strengthen the party, none of us has thought of quitting the party,” he said.

Patil said there was no question of quitting the party and that the disgruntled leaders, who have held two rounds of discussions, had never thought about it. “The Congress might have dumped me but I can’t dump the party. I cannot betray the party,” he said. Meanwhile, Jarkiholi, whose brother Ramesh has been inducted into the Cabinet, confirmed to HT that he would soon resign from his post in the AICC “within a few days”.

Protests were held outside the Congress office here, with supporters of some excluded leaders pressing for their inclusion. At present, there are six vacancies in the Congress’ share of ministries and no date has been finalised for the Cabinet expansion.

One dissident Congress leader said the group is thinking of going to Delhi to show their strength to the high command. “Maybe then they will realise that the expansion was unjust,” the leader said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

While forming the coalition government, Congress and JD(S) had agreed to share the 34 ministries in the ratio of 2:1, with Congress getting 22 and JD(S) the rest, including the CM’S post. Portfolios of the 25 ministers inducted into the state government on Wednesday have not yet been revealed.