Karnataka power tussle: BJP leader calls Siddaramaiah 'Sultan for 15 days'
Bengaluru/Bagalkot (PTI): In the midst of the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MP Govind Karjol called CM Siddaramaiah "Pandrah din-ka-Sultan" (Sultan for 15 days), and said after that, he will not be the chief minister of the state.
Speculation has once again surfaced within the Congress party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for Assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, are announced.
"With the fight for the CM chair in the Congress, there seems to be no administration at Vidhana Soudha. The result for Siddaramaiah's CM chair fight will also be declared, along with election results for five states (four states and one union territory) and bypoll results for Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly seats in Karnataka," Karjol, a former Deputy CM, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "As per today's information, Siddaramaiah is a Sardar for fifteen days, he is Pandrah din-ka-Sultan, after that Siddaramaiah will not be the chief minister of the state."
Stating that Shivakumar is ready to take up the top job, the MP said that this is the reason Siddaramaiah's supporters have gone to New Delhi to meet the Congress President.
"Already 40-odd legislators have lobbied in support of Siddaramaiah; about 50 are lobbying in support of Shivakumar. Amid this fight for the CM chair, the administration has completely collapsed," he said, urging the government to focus on addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer by releasing at least Rs 50 crore per district.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Randeep Surjewala in New Delhi and requested them to address the speculation regarding the change of leadership in Karnataka.
Subsequently, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa too met the party leadership in Delhi.
Both Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are considered close to Siddaramaiah.
While MLAs and leaders who want Shivakumar to be elevated as CM have recently claimed they expect some "sweet news" by May 15, which is their leader's birthday.
Meanwhile, a team of 40 MLAs is preparing to visit New Delhi to press the Congress high command for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the Congress leadership for indulging in "power tussle" instead of addressing the people's concerns. He called the government "anti-people" and "dead" to the people of the state.
With the fight for the CM chair, the ruling Congress in Karnataka seems to be shifting to Delhi. Congress MLAs are repeatedly touring Delhi, upset over the state leadership amid a power struggle between the CM and Deputy CM. This proves that there is no value for the state leadership," he said.
Pointing out that the Deputy CM Shivakumar was not present at the recent special cabinet meeting, which decided on internal reservation among SCs, the opposition leader said, "If the cabinet meeting was held purposely, despite knowing that Shivakumar was in Delhi, it proves that there are factions within the party"
"This government is dead in a way," he said, as he hit out at the Congress MLAs and Ministers, including Shivakumar, for doing "Delhi Yatras" instead of addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer, picking up in the state.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka issues order on internal quota within SC reservation; 56,432 recruitments to proceed
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order implementing internal reservation within the 15 per cent quota earmarked for Scheduled Castes in appointments and admissions.
As per the order, 5.25 per cent reservation has been allocated to Left-hand communities under Category-A, 5.25 per cent to Right-hand communities under Category-B, and 4.50 per cent to other touchable Scheduled Caste communities under Category-C.
The government said the decision follows the recent Cabinet meeting held in view of the interim order of the High Court. It was decided to temporarily adopt the 50 per cent overall reservation ceiling and continue recruitments subject to the final verdict of the court.
Accordingly, the 15 per cent SC reservation in recruitment and admissions will now be distributed among the three categories in the prescribed ratio.
The order further stated that 20 per cent of posts or seats available under Category-C must be reserved for 59 most backward castes within the Scheduled Castes. If eligible candidates from these 59 castes are not available, the vacancies or seats should be filled by candidates from other communities within Category-C.
For implementing the revised quota in recruitment, authorities have been directed to follow a 400-point roster system. Where fewer than three Scheduled Caste roster points are available in any cadre, the reserved posts should be treated as general SC category posts for appointment purposes.
The government has also directed departments to revise ongoing recruitment processes by incorporating internal reservation. Notifications already issued without such quota distribution are to be withdrawn and fresh revised notifications issued immediately.
The order added that if the court upholds the enhanced 24 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the additional 6 per cent posts should be treated as backlog vacancies and filled accordingly.
The government has instructed all recruiting authorities to take urgent steps to fill 56,432 posts already cleared by the Finance Department through direct recruitment.
