With cabinet reshuffle on the cards, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah flies to Delhi

On Tuesday, portion speaking during a Constitution Day programme astatine the authorities Congress headquarters, Shivakumar talked astir however hard it was to get adjacent a grama panchayat subordinate to measurement down. He said that chairmen of assorted boards and corporations had been asked to marque mode for others. “We person informed immoderate ministers excessively (to measurement down),” helium said.

A time later, Shivakumar was successful Delhi, wherever helium said his remarks were solely astir the chairmen and members of assorted boards. “Any reshuffle successful the furniture volition beryllium decided by the main curate and enactment precocious command,” helium said. However, his remarks were seen arsenic indications that the furniture reshuffle, discussed since the Lok Sabha predetermination results came out, could soon materialise.

Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is tipped to regenerate Shivakumar arsenic the authorities Congress chief, acknowledged talks of a reshuffle. “Some ministers volition beryllium changed. Some portfolios of ministers volition besides change. But we don’t cognize erstwhile this volition happen,” helium said.

While Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that a reshuffle aft 2 years is simply a bully practice, allowing for much MLAs to articulation the cabinet, Home Minister G Parameshwara said the determination rests with the main curate and the authorities Congress president.

“They volition sermon with the precocious bid and instrumentality a call,” the location curate said, adding that helium was acceptable to instrumentality connected immoderate relation assigned to him by the precocious command.

According to Congress sources, though the reshuffle should person taken spot astir August oregon September, it was delayed owed to elections successful antithetic states and bypolls for 3 Assembly seats successful Karnataka.

“Now, reshuffle volition instrumentality spot aft the wintertime league of the legislature successful Belagavi,” a root said, adding that caller ministers could apt instrumentality their oaths successful the archetypal fractional of January.

Cabinet members who could look the axe see Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar and Municipal Administration Minister Rahim Khan. Among the aspirants for ministerial berths are Dr Ajay Singh, N A Harris and Vinay Kulkarni.

Apart from performance-related concerns, Bangarappa had precocious attracted disapproval for seeking enactment against a pupil who said the “minister does not cognize Kannada” during an enactment successful Kolar. Hebbalkar is nether the scanner pursuing the termination of a authorities worker successful Belagavi who named 1 of her assistants successful his termination enactment arsenic liable for his death.