Portfolio allocation will be done on Monday, says Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Feb 8: Amid growing pressure from newly inducted ministers for plum ministries, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said the portfolio allocation will be done on February 10.
"Everything is ready but since today (Saturday) is a holiday, we will allot portfolios on Monday morning," Yediyurappa said.
While rewarding with Cabinet berth 10 defectors who helped the BJP bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition and come to power, Yediyurappa had on Thursday announced that the portfolios will be allotted before Saturday.
Yediyurappa also ruled out going to Delhi to decide filling the remaining six vacant ministerial posts.
"At present I am not going but the portfolio distribution will happen on Monday," Yediyurappa told reporters here on Saturday.
According to BJP sources, Yediyurappa apparently deferred the portfolio allocation allegedly due to pressure from Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been insisting upon water resource department.
On the other hand, the BJP leadership wants to give him public works department, they said.
Jarkiholi had a detailed discussion at Yediyurappas house till the early hours of Saturday and left the place displeased, the sources claimed.
The cabinet expansion on Thursday led to discontent among a section of "native" BJP leaders who were left out of the exercise as the party sought to contain dissidence in the face of intense lobbying for berths by several contenders.
The expansion has taken the strength of the Cabinet to 28, with six vacancies now.
In the first expansion last August, 17 ministers were inducted.
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Karnataka government employees demand return of Old Pension Scheme
Bengaluru: Government employees in Karnataka have urged the state government to scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), The New Indian Express reported.
The demand was made by the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association, whose leaders met senior IAS officer Uma Mahadevan on Monday and submitted a memorandum. The association asked the NPS Review Committee, headed by senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez, to recommend the reintroduction of OPS in the state.
Association president C.S. Shadakshari reportedly said the review committee has already visited Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where NPS was revoked and OPS re-implemented. The committee is yet to submit its report, but has told the government it will do so soon.
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Shadakshari allegedly said NPS has been in force in Karnataka since 2006. He pointed out that West Bengal never adopted the scheme, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana replaced NPS with a contributory pension model.
States including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand have already scrapped NPS through cabinet decisions or budget announcements.
“Under NPS, 10% of the employees’ basic salary and DA, and 14% contribution from the state is credited to the employees’ fund. It constitutes 24% of the total which is non-withdrawable. This is invested in the share market and the final amount depends on the ups and downs of the market,” TNIE quoted Shadakshar as saying.
As per the report, he said that by limiting its contribution to 14%, the government could save up to ₹1.87 lakh crore annually if all vacancies are filled, strengthening the case for bringing back the old pension system.
