CM Siddaramaiah drops 14 ministers, inducts 13 new members

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, June 20, 2016, DHNS: After much calculation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday inducted 13 new faces into his council of ministers.

He also dropped 14 ministers, amid brewing dissidence in the Congress party. At the same time, he has managed to retain his old-time associates. 

Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at the Raj Bhavan. There are nine Cabinet-rank ministers and four ministers of state. The chief minister may also reshuffle the portfolios, most likely on Monday.

Siddaramaiah has kept one seat vacant in the 34-member council of ministers, apparently to quell the growing dissidence, especially among the Vokkaligas.

Meanwhile, V Srinivas Prasad and Baburao Chinchansur, who lost ministership, and A B Maalakaraddy, who could not make it to the Cabinet this time too, openly hit out at senior party leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Mallikarjun Kharge. Many unhappy legislators even threatened to quit the party.

Siddaramaiah, while removing ministers M H Ambareesh and Kimmane Ratnakar of the Vokkaliga community, has not yet accommodated anyone from the community. This has not gone down well with others from the community. The chief minister is likely to accommodate a Vokkaliga leader in the existing one vacant seat, sources said.

Prominent among the new ministers are former speakers Kagodu Thimmappa and K R Ramesh Kumar, known for their caustic remarks against the Siddaramaiah government.

Interestingly, the chief minister has re-inducted mining company owner Santosh Lad, who had resigned within six months of the Congress coming to power in 2013 for his reported involvement in illegal mining. Siddaramaiah had even led a padayatra to Ballari to oppose illegal mining. Besides, Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge has made his debut as minister.

Of the 13 new ministers, four belong to the erstwhile janata parivar – Ramesh Kumar, Santosh Lad, H Y Meti and Basavaraj Rayareddy. MLC M R Seetharam, whose family owns the M S Ramaiah group of educational institutions, has been inducted.