There’s a new joke doing the rounds on Facebook. Apparently people learned that Ambareesh was a minister only because he resigned.
Following a major shake-up in the Karnataka Cabinet, 14 ministers were dropped from their posts and replaced. One of them was former housing minister MH Ambareesh, a Vokkaliga from Mandya.
The actor, popularly called ‘Mandyada Gandu’, resigned from the Assembly on Monday, even as protests continued over his removal from the cabinet. On Monday, as a woman attempted to immolate herself in Mandya by pouring diesel, social media erupted with a range of responses – ranging from jokes, to cheers, a sense of betrayal of the Vokkaliga community and a warning for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Here’s what one man said on Facebook:
Joke: "It was only after I saw the news that Ambareesh had been removed from the Cabinet, that I learned that Ambareesh was a Karnataka minister"
"By removing Ambareesh, Siddaramaiah neglected Vokkaligas.... (But) What did Ambareesh, or any of the other Vokkaligas - DK Shivakumar, A Manju, Krishna Byre Gowda, Ramalinga Reddy - do for any of the Vokkaligas who are poor farmers or daily wage workers?"
A message of support for Ambareesh's decision
A warning for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, from the Vokkaliga Yuva Brigade. Starts off with "Anti-Vokkaliga Siddaramaiah..." ... Talking about the Chamundeshwari by election, the post asks Siddaramaiah "Is this how you repay a debt?"
"Is this the same Ambareesh who protested against the central Congress government over the Cauvery decision?"