Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has hinted towards yet another change in the Cabinet. Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s impending visit to Karnataka, the distribution of portfolios has been held off by the CM. The core committee is all set to meet tomorrow to discuss the changes in the cabinet. There’s a possibility of interchanging the ministerial berths within the selected people.
The CM said to the press, “We [the core committee] are working on the distribution of ministerial berths again and the committee will further take a decision on who will be included in the cabinet. The distribution of portfolios will happen once Home Minister Amit Shah reviews the list after his arrival in the city.” He also added that new members may get the ministerial berth concurrently hinting at the possibility of interchange between the legislators who entered the cabinet.
After the cabinet expansion on January 13, many disgruntled legislators cried foul and issued derogatory statements against CM Yediyurappa. On one hand the BJP MLA for Bommanahalli, Satish Reddy criticised Yediyurappa. He in a tweet questioned the criteria for selecting candidates eligible for ministerial berths.
In addition to that, Bijapur City MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal said that the decision to keep party loyalists out of the cabinet marked “the end” to Yediyurappa’s political career. “Mark my words now. This will be the end of Yediyurappa and his son Vijayendra,” Yatnal had said. He also alleged that the CM has given people the ministerial positions because they were allegedly blackmailing him. Yatnal also added that they used CDs and pen drives to blackmail the CM.
Other discontented members are Yediyurappa’s political advisor and Honnali legislator Renukacharya, Ballari MLA G Somashekara Reddy and Harappanahalli MLA Karunakar Reddy. The leaders implicitly expressed their unhappiness about not being inducted into the cabinet.
CM Yediyurappa on Thursday asked the disgruntled members to approach the high command in Delhi. He also appealed to them not to “damage” the reputation of the party. Meanwhile, leaders like Munirathna sided with the CM.