Cabinet to expand on December 22
Bengaluru, Dec 6: Ending the suspense, the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka has announced that the H D Kumaraswamy cabinet would be expanded on December 22.
The decision was taken by the coordination committee of the coalition that met here Wednesday under the chairmanship of former chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda were consulted before deciding the date, Siddaramaiah told reporters here after the over two-hour-long meeting of the committee.
Six members from the Congress and two from the JD(S) would be inducted, he said, adding that it was also decided to appoint MLAs as heads of corporations and boards on the same day.
There has been growing clamour among the MLAs, especially those from the Congress, for expansion of the cabinet at the earliest, with a few openly expressing discontent over the delay.
This will be the second expansion of Kumaraswamy's cabinet, the current strength of which is 26.
The Congress and the JD(S) came to power in May after the state assembly elections threw up a fractured verdict. After the first expansion in June, there was discontent among the Congress's ministerial aspirants.
The second cabinet expansion was expected to take place in October, but it was put off.
Siddaramaiah said then the plan was to expand the cabinet on December 9, but as the legislature session commences on December 10 in the northern district of Belagavi, the expansion was deferred.
It would be done a day after the conclusion of the session on December 21, he said.
The former chief minister, who is also the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), said the coordination committee also decided to appoint a few MLAs from both the parties as parliamentary secretaries to ministers.
Under the agreement reached during the formation of the coalition in May, the chairmanship of 20 boards and corporations will go to Congress and 10 to JD(S).
Kumaraswamy, his deputy G Parameshwara, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal and JD(S) secretary general Danish Ali, among others, attended the coordination committee meeting.
Siddaramaiah said measures for smooth functioning of the government and speedy resolution of issues raised by MLAs concerning developmental work in their respective constituencies were also discussed at the meeting.
A few MLAs, especially those from the Congress, have reportedly conveyed their unhappiness to the party leadership about the functioning of the government and against a few JD(S) ministers, including Kumaraswamy's brother and PWD Minister H D Revanna.
Siddaramaiah dismissed reports about disgruntled Congress MLAs led by Satish Jarkiholi planning to join hands with the BJP.
None of the Congress MLAs will leave the party and such information is only media speculation, he said.
The Congress leader asserted that the coalition was solid and the BJP's dream of a successful 'Operation Lotus' will only remain a dream.
Siddaramaiah said the coalition would remain stable throughout its five-year tenure.
He also claimed that the BJP will be defeated in the ongoing assembly elections in five states.
Echoing Siddaramaiah's statement, JD(S) secretary general Danish Ali said the coalition government would complete its term.
He alleged that media reports about trouble in the Congress-JD(S) combine were sponsored by the BJP.
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BJP stages walkout in Karnataka assembly over 'non-disbursal' of Gruha Lakshmi payout
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The opposition BJP on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Karnataka assembly protesting the alleged "non-disbursal" of two months' installments to 1.26 crore beneficiaries under a woman's assistance scheme of the state government.
The protest followed a heated debate in which the opposition accused the state government of providing "misleading" information regarding the payment status of the flagship Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
The saffron party members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings of the House for over an hour.
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The Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme is one of the five pre-poll promises of the ruling Congress. It provides Rs 2,000 monthly to women heads of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The BJP legislators accused Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar of having "misled" the House by giving false information to BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai that all the instalments till August have been paid under the scheme.
The opposition charged that the installments for the months of February and March this year were not paid.
The BJP MLAs' grouse was that they had been demanding an explanation from the Minister for the past three days, but she never turned up to provide information.
As soon as the session started, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House demanding the Minister's presence, which led to the adjournment.
When the members assembled again, the Minister replied that this is a unique flagship programme of the Congress government, which is a model for all the states.
Hebbalkar said she always strived to ensure that this scheme is implemented religiously.
"However, when I checked, I noticed that two months' installments were not paid to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). If my reply has hurt anyone, then I express my regret," she said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who came to the defence of Hebbalkar, said the BJP should apologise for the lie in the Union Budget.
"Despite the Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the budget, the money was not given to Karnataka. You should question that as well," Shivakumar underlined.
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To this, Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka said the matter was raised because not only were the BJP members hurt but also the 1.26 crore beneficiaries who were eagerly waiting for the money.
Demanding that the lie be expunged from the House records, he insisted on a date for when the backlog will be paid to the beneficiaries.
The Minister said she was apologising for giving a wrong reply, but she was peeved at the way a woman was targeted in the House.
Objecting to this statement, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar asked her to refrain from playing victim card and bring up the issue of gender, caste and religious discrimination as it was a matter related to 1.26 crore people.
Ashoka and the BJP MLAs then staged a walkout, saying the Minister's reply was not satisfactory.
