Portfolio allocation of newly-inducted ministers won't cause dismay: D.K Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Dec 28: Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar Friday said fresh allocation of portfolios to newly-inducted ministers would not cause any dismay among the incumbents in the Congress-JDS coalition government.
He also said he was expecting Congress President Rahul Gandhi to announce the portfolios of all the 22 Congress ministers today.
"Allocation of portfolios to eight newly-inducted ministers will not cause any dismay among the incumbent ministers including me in the coalition government," he told PTI.
Noting that the Congress was a "disciplined party," he said, "The blackmailing tactics of Ramesh (Jarkiholi) and his group will not work out.. We value discipline very much."
After Jarkiholi was dropped from the ministry, he has threatened to quit as Congress lawmaker and is likely to announce his decision soon amid reports that he might join the BJP.
The audio of a conversation purportedly involving Jarkiholi was aired by local TV channels on Sunday where he is heard talking about his plans to quit as Congress MLA, fuelling speculations about him defecting to BJP.
Jarkiholi, who has allegedly been cosy with BJP leaders and not attending cabinet and party meetings, was replaced by his brother Satish Jarkiholi.
Asked about media reports on the rift between Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Congress-JDS coalition coordination committee head Siddaramaiah over giving up of additional portfolios, Shivakumar said, "I am not aware of that."
According to reports, the meeting between top party leaders on Wednesday to decide on portfolios was not cordial, as Parameshwara expressed displeasure after Siddaramaiah asked him to give up some key portfolios.
However, the Deputy Chief Minister had later clarified that he would abide by the decision taken by the party high command.
Parameshwara currently holds the departments of home, Bengaluru city related affairs, youth affairs and sports.
Reacting to JDS leader Basavaraj Horatti's allegations that the Congress was not allowing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to function in peace, Shivakumar said it was "false."
"The allegations are false.. We (Congress party) are not interfering.. We want a stable government. We want Kumaraswamy to be strong. At no point of time will I be a backstabber," he said.
Horatti has been upset with the Congress after he lost out to the party's Prathap Chandra Shetty in the race to occupy the legislative council chairman's seat.
Horatti, who was pro-tem chairman of the council, was one of the front-runners for the post.
He had also claimed that the Congress announced appointment of heads to 20 boards and corporations without consulting Kumaraswamy.
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New govt in Maharashtra to be formed on Dec 5, Fadnavis frontrunner for CM post: BJP leader
Mumbai (PTI): Mahayuti alliance's new government in Maharashtra will be formed on December 5 with Devendra Fadnavis emerging as the frontrunner to become the next chief minister again, a senior BJP leader said on Saturday.
In the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) retained power, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 57 and NCP with 41 seats.
However, even after the announcement of poll results a week ago (on November 23), the formation of the government has been delayed as the tripartite alliance is yet to decide on who will be the next chief minister. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar met BJP president J P Nadda and Union minister Amit Shah late Thursday to discuss a power-sharing pact for the next government.
A key Mahayuti meeting scheduled on Friday was put off and likely to take place on Sunday now as caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde headed to his native village in Satara district, delaying government formation further.
The BJP leader, who did not wish to be quoted, said the swearing-in of the new government will take place on December 5.
Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who was the chief minister twice and deputy chief minister in the last government, is the frontrunner for the top post, the leader said.
Another senior BJP leader said the chief minister's swearing-in ceremony will take place at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
But before that, a meeting will be held on December 2 to pick the BJP legislature party leader, he said.
Caretaker CM Shinde has made it clear that he will fully support BJP leadership's decision to name the next CM, and that he won't be a hurdle in the process, while Ajit Pawar-led NCP has backed Fadnavis for the chief minister's post.
In the assembly elections, Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback. The grand old party registered one of its worst performances in the state assembly polls after it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) could bag only 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20.
