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Hours after BS Yediyurappa assigns Karnataka portfolios, ministers complain
Newly inducted ministers and others who have been stripped of portfolios to accommodate new members have started to openly express their concerns, compounding problems for Karnataka CM.
Dissent broke out within the ranks of the BS Yediyurappa-led cabinet hours after the newly allocated portfolios were released on Thursday.
At least three ministers - KC Narayana Gowda, N Nagaraju (M.T.B) and K Gopalaiah - met at health minister K Sudhakar's residence on Thursday to discuss how they can convey their displeasure to the chief minister.
Troubles continue to mount for Yediyurappa post the portfolio distribution, which the 77-year- old chief minister had hoped would quell dissent within his government.
Newly inducted ministers and others who have been stripped of portfolios to accommodate new members have started to openly express their concerns, compounding problems for Yediyurappa.
N Nagaraju (M.T.B) today said that he was unhappy with the excise portfolio, indicating that it appeared as a downgrade in profile as he had earlier served as housing minister in the coalition government.
"There isn't much I can do in the excise department and had asked for a portfolio which is more development oriented. I have conveyed this to the CM," Nagaraju said on Thursday.
K Gopalaiah, another turncoat who helped bring down the HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal(S)-Congress coalition, said he will meet the chief minister to question why he was stripped of his food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department.
"We will meet him and want to ask him what mistake we have committed," he asked.
Yediyurappa is facing dissent from newly inducted ministers and his former aides after several of them were overlooked in the cabinet expansion exercise.
Putting up a brave face, the CM underlined, "There is no difference of opinion among the new ministers."
Revenue minister R Ashok said that all differences have been resolved and also added that no re-distribution of portfolios has been promised to disgruntled elements, including himself.
The CM has retained at least eight ministries that include Bengaluru development, energy, finance, intelligence, infrastructure development and all other unallocated portfolios as a measure to manage expectations and quell dissent in the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
Sudhakar, the health and family welfare minister was forced to part with the medical education portfolio which was handed to JC Madhuswamy, who was earlier the minister for law, parliamentary affairs and legislation department. Sudhakar had fought hard to retain both medical education and health in the peak of the pandemic from B Sriramulu.
Several ministers refused to attend the cabinet meeting scheduled for later in the day.
