Karnataka Health Minister Sriramulu will not be in charge of COVID-19 cases, here’s why

Games of one-upmanship are not uncommon in politics, even in the times of a pandemic it seems. Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare, B Sriramulu was discharged from his duties in handling the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday. Governor Vajubhai Vala signed off on a notification that reallocated the duty to none other than his detractor within the BJP - Dr K Sudhakar. 

B Sriramulu will retain the health portfolio and has also been allotted the Ministry for Backward Classes Welfare. However, his health portfolio excludes all matters related to COVID-19. These responsibilities have now been handed over to Minister for Medical Education, Dr K Sudhakar. 

Though the decision seems to have been taken keeping in mind the interests of the state, what lead to it was Sriramulu's lack of understanding about public health. In the past few days, the media had also witnenessed a game of one-upmanship about who would be at the forefront of efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. This tussle in the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak in Karnataka, began in early March when the state reported its first case in Bengaluru, a BJP leader said. 

The tussle became evident to many when Sriramulu and his team began vying for more screen space during press conferences. Both Sriramulu and Sudhakar have separate media teams too.

“In many instances, Sudhakar, a medical doctor, has been the one to speak at press meets and Sriramulu had to remain silent. This angered him. He demanded that he be allocated another portfolio if the party wanted to put Sudhakar at the forefront of tackling COVID-19,” the BJP source said. 

While the party leadership in Karnataka decided to make Dr K Sudhakar, as the government’s spokesperson on all things related to COVID-19, sources in the BJP say that this did not bode well with Sriramulu. Since he was allocated the portfolio in August 2019, Sriramulu has been unhappy. He had on multiple occasions openly aired his displeasure of being allocated the health portfolio despite specifically asking his partymen to not put him in charge of it. 

With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing in Karnataka, sources in the BJP say that Sriramulu was not able to handle the heat. “Sudhakar on the other hand is a doctor. He understands issues related to health and is qualified to tackle the situation. The party decided to put him in charge of the COVID-19 cases and its management,” the BJP leader said. 

This, party insiders say, has upset Sriramulu as he feels he was undercut by Sudhakar, who was until last year a member of the BJP’s archrivals -- the Congress. Sudhakar was one of the 17 MLAs, who resigned, which led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka. “Sudhakar is gaining a lot of attention in a short span and this has irked Sriramulu,” the leader said.