Ministers by rotation to end Karnataka crisis
Some from party miffed over portfolio allocations
The Congress leadership has tried to quell the revolt by senior party leaders in Karnataka denied ministerial berths in the coalition government led by CM HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal(Secular) by suggesting a formula for rotating the party ministers every six month on the basis of the performance.
The leadership's worry is that the post-poll experiment of coalition that has prompted hopes of all parties coming together to oust Narendra Modi from power in the 2019 Lok Sabha election should not collapse so early, sending wrong vibes.
Besides reviewing performance of the Congress ministers every six months, the party suggested complete change of the ministers every two years to make room for the new faces. The formula was suggested after Kumaraswamy spoke to Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the government collapsing in the wake of a revolt of sorts by disgruntled Congress leader M B Patil, who claimed the support of 20 of the 79 Congress MLAs.
Kumaraswamy had met Patil after Rahul directed Dy CM G Parameshwara, minister R V Deshpande and state working president Dinesh Gundu Rao to pacify him. Patil is among the Lingayat leaders eyeing the post of deputy chief minister that instead went to state Cong President Parameshwara.
Many would have preferred the post going to chief crisis manager D K Shivakumar. Patil revolted after the Chief Minister refused to have two deputy Cms, as he was left out in the induction of 22 Congress MLAs as ministers. The Congress left six berths vacant, apparently to accommodate dissidents. Shivakumar has assured the party leadership that the revolt will die down once these vacancies are filled. He has suggested accommodating M B Patil, H K Patil, S R Patil, M T B Nagaraj and Satish Jarkiholi.
Meanwhile, after the Congress, disgruntlement is brewing within coalition partner JD(S) too, as two senior ministers from the party are said to be miffed over the portfolios allotted to them following the recent cabinet expansion. JD(S) sources said GT Deve Gowda, who has been allotted higher education, and CS Puttaraju, who got minor irrigation in the portfolio allocation on Friday night, are unhappy about their ministries. G T Deve Gowda, who emerged as a giant killer, defeating former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru in the May 12 assembly polls and Puttaraju, who vacated his Lok Sabha seat and won the Melukote assembly segment, were eyeing key portfolios, including transport. DC Thammanna, a relative of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, being given transport is also said to be one of the reasons for their discontent. Also supporters of both the ministers held protests in Mysuru and Mandya, the districts they hail from, demanding key portfolios for their leaders. The development in the JD(S) has come even as dissident activities of the MLAs intensified in the Congress over not getting ministerial berths. Speaking on unrest in the Congress due to allocation of portfolios, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday stated that sacrifices are necessary sometimes in order to save the Constitution and democracy.