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Karnataka minister advises cabinet colleague to quit following viral audio clip
A leaked audio tape that is making the rounds in the Karnataka political periphery has prompted state horticulture minister Munirathna to advise his cabinet colleague Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy to quit.
Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy's purported remarks that the "government is not functioning, we are somehow managing", has drawn criticism from some of his cabinet colleagues, with Horticulture Minister Munirathna even advising him to quit the Ministry.
A purported phone conversation between Madhuswamy and Bhaskar, a Channapatna-based social worker, had gone viral on Saturday.
"We are not running a government here, we are just managing, pulling through for the next 7-8 months," Madhuswamy can be heard telling Bhaskar in response to his complaints against the VSSN bank, with respect to farmers.
Reacting to this, Horticulture Minister Munirathna said in Kolar today, Madhuswamy should resign from the Ministry immediately, before making such a statement.
"He is part of the government and is participating in every matter at the cabinet, so he also has a share in it...being in a responsible position making such statements is not right, it is not befitting to his seniority," he said.
Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar too has hit out at Madhuswamy for his comments saying, in case it is his voice, it is wrong. "Madhuswamy feels that he is the only intelligent person, he has to remove it from his head first," he said.
Madhuswamy in the purported phone conversation, while responding to social worker's complaint, can be heard expressing helplessness over Minister Somashekar's inaction.
"I know these issues. I've brought this to the notice of S T Somashekhar (Cooperation Minister). He is not taking action. What to do?" Madhuswamy can be heard saying.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said, Madhuswamy wouldn't have made such remarks and it may be someone's creation to create confusion.
"It cannot be true, you have to get it clarified from Madhuwamy. It is impossible for Madhuswamy to say such things, it may be the work of conspirators from our opponents to create confusion," he said in Ramanagara.
The Opposition Congress has targeted the Basavaraj Bommai-led government following the audio leak, calling it "inactive".
