Karnataka cabinet expansion on June 12, says Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Jun 8: Expansion of the Karnataka cabinet would take place on June 12, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy announced Saturday, in a much expected move to quell growing dissent within the Congress-JD(S) coalition that threatens the stability of its government.
Kumaraswamy made the announcement in a tweet after meeting Governor Vajubhai Vala, which comes after weeks of consultations between the chief minister and Congress leaders amid coalition worries compounded by the Lok Sabha poll rout.
"Today, I met the honourable governor and requested him to give time for the cabinet expansion. He has fixed June 12, Wednesday, 11.30 am to administer oath," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
The cabinet expansion or rejig was in the offing after the humiliating defeat of the Congress and JD(S) in the Lok Sabha election, in which both the parties barely survived the Modi wave, getting one seat each.
The BJP swept the polls, capturing 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, backed by the BJP, won the Mandya seat, defeating Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil in one of the most bitterly fought contests.
The cabinet expansion is seen as a way to contain the rebellion that erupted, specially in the Congress, after the poll debacle, with several senior leaders openly castigating the state leadership.
Of the total 34 ministerial positions in Karnataka, the Congress and the JD(S) have shared 22 and 12 respectively under an understanding between the two parties. Currently, three posts are vacant, two from JD(S) and one from the Congress.
Troubles mounted for the coalition early this week with the JD(S) state chief A H Vishwanath quitting his post flaying the coalition's functioning and two senior Congress MLAs slamming the party's state leaders for the debacle in the general elections.
The Lok Sabha rout gave enough ammunition to the disgruntled lot in the Congress as well as the JD(S) to publicly target their state leaders.
Vishwanath had criticised the coalition government's performance and coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah for failing to draw a common minimum programme for smooth functioning of the government.
Senior Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy had also hit out at the party's state leadership, saying "newbies and migrants", who did not know anything about the Congress, were being given priority in the party and government.
He had warned that if the present situation continued, it would be difficult for seniors to continue in the party.
Reddy's attack had come days after state Congress' Muslim face Roshan Baig's outburst, calling AICC general secretary K C Venugopal a "buffoon", Kartanaka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao a "flop show" and Siddaramaiah "arrogant."
Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi has been allegedly hobnobbing with the BJP for the past few months, amid reports that he might switch sides along with several other legislators.
According to sources, Kumaraswamy, who is also the JD(S) legislature party leader, has discussed with MLAs the issue of cabinet expansion or rejig.
There seems to be worry within the Congress about cabinet expansion or reshuffle with a growing number of aspirants for ministerial berths and that the move might only complicate matters for the coalition.
The spectacular electoral show by the BJP, despite a Congress-JD(S) joint fight, is keeping the coalition on the edge as it fears an onslaught from its opponent to topple the government by luring away its disgruntled MLAs.
Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa has asked the Congress-JD(S) to give up power if it cannot run the government and asserted that his party would govern in case the coalition collapses and would make sure there is no mid-term polls.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
