Former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily said the option of appointing a Deputy Chief Minister is left entirely to the discretion of the Chief Minister.
“P.V. Narasimha Rao (former Prime Minister) did not tell me to make S.M. Krishna the Deputy Chief Minister. It was my wish...”, said Mr. Moily, recalling the appointment of Mr. Krishna as Deputy Chief Minister in 1992.
The high command never imposes its decision on the Chief Minister on the issue of appointing either a Deputy Chief Minister or even a Minister, Mr. Moily said responding to queries from presspersons here.
He also claimed that he met both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, the latter an aspirant for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, and found them to be getting along very well.
VerdictReferring to the special court in Bangalore that convicted AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, Mr. Moily said the prestige of Karnataka’s judiciary has been enhanced for carrying out a fair trial after the SC reposed its faith in the State judiciary by transferring the case from Tamil Nadu to Bangalore. On Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s perceived “silence” after the Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Moily said he “is working to reinvigorate the party”.
