BSY reaches out to sulking MLAs as discontent continues to brew over Cabinet expansion
Bengaluru, Aug 21: A day after the expansion of the Karnataka cabinet with the induction of 17 Ministers, discontent among those who failed to secure Ministerial berths refused to die down on Wednesday, even as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa made attempts to douse the embers.
As the expansion brought an end to the nearly month long wait for the cabinet to take shape, it led to some heartburn in a section of the party as several MLAs continued to make no secret of their displeasure after missing the bus.
Yediyurappa has sought to reach out to the sulking MLAs, specifically eight-time Hukkeri MLA Umesh Katti, whom several legislators who could not make it to the Ministry reportedly met.
"For one hour yesterday I have spoken to him (Katti) in the presence of Basavaraj Bommai (Minister). Naturally he is pained at not getting an opportunity. I will try to find a remedy," Yediyurappa told reporters in Tumakuru.
On discontent expressed by Honnali MLA M P Renukacharya about a former legislator Laxman Savadi, who is neither a member of the Assembly nor the Council, being made the Minister, sidelining several sitting MLAs, he said "I will call Renukacharya and friends and talk to them."
On his part Katti said he is not discontented and no other disgruntled legislators were with him.
He told reporters that he met Yediyurappa and that he cannot reveal internal matters of the party to the media.
"I met him, he is my leader. I asked him why I was not made Minister. He told what he has to. I also told him what I had to...I have no discontent, I'm a responsible BJP legislator," he said.
Rubbishing reports that he and some other MLAs had met former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and were looking at the JD(S) as an option, he said, "If I'm made Minister I will work, if not as a legislator I will work...even this time I had put my efforts to become Minister.
...there are 224 MLAs in the state, among them only 34 can become Minister, if I don't have luck, what can I do?"
Renukacharya said he had never lobbied for a Minister's post, but was unhappy about those who have lost elections being made minister, referring to Savadi.
"I have discontent not regarding Yediyurappa or BJP...I have discontent because those who have lost elections have become Minister.
I'm not asking for myself, but for others, sitting MLAs could have been made Minister," he said.
Questioning why a senior MLA like Umesh Katti was not made a Minister, Renukacharya however said he would never go against the party or Yediyurappa and "will not go knocking at the doors of other party leaders."
"False information is being spread against me...if my self esteem is hurt, I will resign immediately, but will not go knocking at other's doors."
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as Chief Minister, Yediyurappa on Tuesday had expanded his ministry by inducting 17 ministers into his Cabinet.
Several other BJP MLAs like Ramappa Lamani of Shiragatti, Neharu Olekar of Haveri and Raju Gowda of Shorapur have also expressed disappointment over being left out in the expansion on Wednesday.
Many other aspirants who missed out,including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, C M Udasi and Raju Gowda met Yediyurappa.
According to sources, the Chief Minister is said to have pointed out that it was the central leadership which finalized the names to be included in the Cabinet.
While trying to convince senior legislators like Katti and Yatnal that they may be considered in the next phase, he told them that the larger share was given to Lingayats in the first phase, and including more members from the community would send a wrong message.
In the 18 member Ministry, including the Chief Minister, Lingayats strength is eight.
Accepting that some party leaders are miffed after the cabinet expansion, senior minister K S Eshwarappa said "small issues" are common in a family.
"BJP is like a family and all of us are brothers. We will discuss with them and resolve the issue," he said.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, he said "we will also have to give some berths to several legislators (disqualified MLAs) who have come from Congress and JD(S). So keeping aside some berths, BJP legislators have been made ministers."
Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 Ministers, including the Chief Minister.
With this "limited" expansion, 16 cabinet berths are vacant, leaving space for some of the disqualified former Congress and JDS MLAs, who helped bring down the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy to get on board.
Meanwhile, a few disqualified MLAs, including Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumatahalli, S T Somashekar, Byrati Basavaraj left for Delhi on Wednesday, amid reports that they had expressed keenness to meet BJP's central leadership on their political future.
However, K Sudhakar, one of the disqualified MLAs clarified that they were going to Delhi to meet the lawyers representing them in the Supreme Court, where their plea challenging the disqualification is pending.
But speculations are rife that they may make attempts to meet some top BJP leaders, with BJP leader C P Yogeshwar accompanying them to Delhi.
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Good beginning, talks to proceed: Manipur CM on meeting with Kuki Zo Council delegation
Imphal (PTI): Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Sunday said his meeting with a Kuki Zo Council delegation was a "good beginning" at restoring peace in the state and rebuilding trust between Meiteis and Kukis.
A day after holding the closed-door meeting with the delegation in Guwahati, he told reporters here that "the talk between the Kuki Zo Council (KZC) and the state government for the first time in nearly three years is a really good thing".
"The talks will proceed," the chief minister said.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
The KZC, in a statement on Sunday, said the meeting commenced at 7 pm on Saturday and lasted around 1 hour and 45 minutes. The interaction was largely an ice-breaking session, it said.
Addressing the media on Sunday, the chief minister said, "In Manipur's situation, the most saddening part is that internally displaced persons (IDPs) are unable to return to their native homes..
"What is of utmost importance for their return is to rebuild the trust between the two communities. How long can central forces keep on guarding the population in some places? What is required is for the communities to forget the conflict and rebuild trust," Singh said.
Informing the reporters that the issue of IDPs of both sides returning to their places featured in the talks, the chief minister added that "at least we need to have a good beginning".
"I would like to thank the Kuki Zo Council for accepting the invitation for talks. We held the talks with the objective of bringing peace..
"My appeal to all is to restore peace and proceed with the concept of forgive and forget. My approach is bringing peace and building trust. There is no demand or commitment," Singh said.
Responding to media queries on the demand for a separate administration, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced that the territorial integrity of Manipur would remain intact.
As to the buffer zones terminology, Singh said, "There is no buffer zone for the government. During talks, I refer to it as a sensitive zone. Since there is no trust, security forces engage in checking at such sensitive zones..
He, however, asserted that "now is not the time for any kind of confrontation. If we want to bring peace, we must work honestly and more importantly, we must not focus on someone said this or someone said that".
The Kuki Zo Council, on the other hand, said that its delegation raised several key issues during the meeting in Guwahati on Saturday, all of which were attentively heard by the chief minister.
"Prominent among these (issues raised) were the urgent need to de-escalate the ongoing tensions between the Kuki and Tangkhul communities, and the imperative of ensuring justice for the victims of the conflict as a fundamental prerequisite for any meaningful peace and reconciliation process," it said.
The delegation also emphasised the importance of maintaining the sanctity of the buffer zone until a political settlement is reached and stressed the need to expedite a resolution to the ongoing Suspension of Operations talks to ensure durable and lasting peace in the region, the KZC statement said.
"The chief minister, in turn, shared his concerns, commitments, and the steps undertaken by his government in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur. He expressed high appreciation for the KZC's initiative and its bold step in engaging with him during this challenging period," it said.
