Karnataka: Meeting at minister’s house sparks buzz on more Dy CMs

People in the know of the development said that those who attended the meeting were close to chief minister Siddaramaiah and that they discussed the creation of additional deputy chief minister posts

Bengaluru: Prominent Dalit leaders in the Congress party held a meeting at senior leader and minister Satish Jarkiholi’s house in Bengaluru again triggered buzz about the demand for additional deputy chief ministers in the state.

The dinner meeting hosted by PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi was attended by home minister G Parameshwara, minister for social welfare HC Mahadevappa, minister for food KH Muniyappa, and minister for cooperation KN Rajanna. (HT Archives)

The dinner meeting hosted by PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi was attended by home minister G Parameshwara, minister for social welfare HC Mahadevappa, minister for food KH Muniyappa, and minister for cooperation KN Rajanna.

People in the know of the development said that those who attended the meeting were close to chief minister Siddaramaiah and that they discussed the creation of additional deputy chief minister posts, which has been objected to by DK Shivakumar, who is the only deputy CM now.

“The meeting held late into Thursday night concluded with leaders deciding to present the demand for two additional deputy CM posts to the high command, with one designated for the Dalit community,” said a party leader, requesting not to be named.

Responding to enquiries in Bangalore, home minister Parameshwara downplayed the meeting, saying it was a just dinner meeting. “We just joined for dinner, nothing else… I cannot tell you what was discussed. Politicians talk about politics. We had a SC/ST conference before the election. We had adopted 10 resolutions there. We said that we would solve the issues when the government comes. We discussed that matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, KN Rajanna reiterated his stance on appointing three more deputy chief ministers in Karnataka to ensure social justice and representation for various communities. “I still stand by what I said earlier. Three more deputy CMs should be appointed to give representation to communities to ensure social justice,” the minister told reporters.

“Ministers Parameshwara and Satish Jarkiholi have also spoken about the need for more deputy CMs in the past. But the Congress high command has directed us not to discuss this in public. But considering the political developments after the results of the assembly polls held in five states recently, Karnataka needs three more deputy CMs,” he added

Minister Jarkiholi had previously raised the demand for three deputy CM posts during his visit to Delhi, insisting on appointing Dalit and minority leaders in light of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. HT reached out to Jarkiholi for his response to meeting but did not get one immediately.