BJP MLC A.H. Vishwanath on Wednesday lashed out at Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, terming him “ungrateful” and objecting to the choices made for the Cabinet expansion.
Speaking to reporters here minutes after the list of seven new faces to be inducted into the cabinet was announced, Mr Vishwanath accused Mr Yediyurappa of succumbing to “blackmail” by BJP MLC C P Yogeshwar while accommodating him in the Cabinet and dropping Mr Nagesh and excluding Mr Munirathna.
He charged Mr Yediyurappa of going back on his promise to protect the interests of the people, who had sacrificed their political interests to make him the Chief Minister. He pointed out that Mr Nagesh, a Dalit, was among the first Ministers to resign from the H D Kumaraswamy Government. Also, there is no justification for keeping Mr Munirathna, the MLA from Rajarajeshwarinagar, out of the Cabinet, he said.
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He took serious objection to inclusion in the Cabinet of Mr Yogeshwar, whom he accused of indulging in anti-party activities during the by-polls to Hunsur, leading to his defeat.
Mr Vishwanath also termed Mr Yediyurappa as “ungrateful” due to his failure to acknowledge even once publicly the sacrifice he had made by resigning from the post of President of JD (S) state unit and as MLA representing Hunsur so that he could become the Chief Minister.
He also found fault with the caste-wise constitution of the Yediyurappa Ministry and said members representing Lingayat community had taken a Lion’s share, followed by Vokkaligas. The absence of a member from the minorities in the Cabinet is glaring, he said.
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