As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has embarked on a major Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, the Congress is hit by dissidence once again. Ministers who are to be dropped are clearly unhappy and so are several legislators who have been aspiring for Cabinet berths.
Soon after the announcement of reshuffle, two Ministers in the Siddaramaiah government — V. Srinivas Prasad and M.H. Ambareesh — openly questioned the Chief Minister’s authority to drop them from the Cabinet.
“The Chief Minister has failed to assess my performance and achievements in the last three years,” said an angry Mr. Prasad in Mysuru.
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Meanwhile, ‘rebel star’ and Housing Minister Ambareesh has threatened to resign from the Legislative Assembly if he is dropped from the Cabinet. Some of his supporters on Saturday evening blocked roads near Mandya to oppose the move to drop him.
Frustrated about not being inducted into the Cabinet, senior Congress leader A.B. Malakaraddy (Yadgir) threatened to quit the Assembly membership as well as the party. Mr. Malakaraddy, who was Minister in the S.M. Krishna government, has decided to consult his voters in the constituency about his next move.
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Minister for Horticulture and Agriculture Marketing Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who would be dropped to pave the way for his son S.S. Mallikarjun, sarcastically said, “If I am dropped, I will travel in a high-end Benz car. Now, I travel in a Toyota Innova!” Several legislators who have been aspiring for Cabinet berths such as Mallikaya Guttedar, P.M. Ashok, S.T. Somashekar, Muniratna, C.P. Yogeshwar, Ajay Singh, and Motamma, are likely to indulge in dissident activities, opposing the manner in which the exercise was conducted.