Bangalore: Siddaramaiah earns praises from opposition over cabinet formation

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jun 11: In a rare gesture, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earned warm appreciation from the opposition BJP and JD(S) members in the State Legislative Assembly over the manner in which he had handled the formation of his ministry.

Senior BJP leader and former minister Govind M Karjol was the first to express his appreciation to Siddaramaiah for the manner in which he had managed the cabinet formation and giving ''fair” representation to all major castes and communities in the State.

“Siddaramaiah has shown what he had all along preached,” Karjol said.

The Chief Minister provided ministerial berths to all major castes and also the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes, including Bhovi and Ambigas, the BJP leader said.

Karjol pointed out that Siddaramaiah took the ''bold decision” of denying ministerial berths to his own Kuruba community while accommodating leaders from all other castes and communities obviously to send out the message to the people that the Kuruba community that they need to nurse any apprehensions of neglect as he was there to ''represent, safeguard and protect” their interests.

The BJP leader was participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint legislature session.

Karjol mentioned that Minister for Minor Irrigation Shivaraj Tangadagi belonged to the Bhovi community while Minister Baburao Chinchanasur hailed from Ambiga community.

“After a gap of several years,” Karjol said the chief minister had ensured that a member from the SC/ST community received a weighty portfolio such as PWD in having his close confidant H C Mahadevappa, who belonged to the SC community, being entrusted with the PWD Minister’s responsibility.

Karjol congratulated the Chief Minister and said “principles adopted by Siddaramaiah are worth emulating by leaders of political parties.”

JD(S) leader Y S V Datta, who is considered quite close to JD(S) Supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is also the State JD(S) president, read out a Vachana and drew attention of members to Siddaramaiah’s political shrewdness in the formation of the Government last month.

Tracing the political roots of the Chief Minister, Datta said “Blood is thicker than the water.”

Datta said Siddaramaiah has put in practice all his political skills while forming the ministry as well as in the allocation of portfolios.

The Chief Minister allotted plum portfolios to his loyalists while accommodating old Congressmen in the ministry, Datta noted.

Siddaramaiah, however, mildly chastised Datta and accused his erstwhile JD(S) colleague of trying to create a rift in the ruling party by reading out his own Vachana.
 
“I am not accepting Datta’s claims on the government formation,” the chief minister said and pointed out that it was not correct to describe his party colleagues as Old or Original Congressmen and immigrants  from other parties.
 
“We are all part and parcel of Congress and we are all united,” Siddaramaiah said adding that the statements by Datta were ''far from truth.”

Bopaiah Demands Abolition of Western Ghats Task Force

Bangalore, Jun 11: Former Speaker and BJP member K G Bopaiah has demanded abolition of the Western Ghats Task Force constituted by his own party Government.

He was participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint session of the State Legislature in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Bopaiah, who hails from Kodagu, urged the Congress government to wind up the Task Force as it was not doing any work for the benefit of the people or the State.

The B S Yeddyurappa government had constituted the Task Force and appointed Ananth Hegde Ashisar, who was continued in the post by the successive chief ministers D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar.

Instead of safeguarding the forests, the Task Force has been destroying the forest by recommending several steps which were not practical.

“Why should the Task Force have an office in third floor of the Vidhana Soudha?,” Bopaiah asked and said: ''Let them set up office in forest for understanding the problems faced by villagers.”

Bopaiah also strongly opposed planting of teakwood saplings in forests and said “nothing grows under teakwood.”

Elephant menace in Kodagu district has been a major problem for the past few years and several persons have been injured in the attack, he said and demanded that the government should initiate measures to curb the elephant menace.

He suggested that the Government must take up concerted action for planting a variety of saplings to increase green cover as well food to wild animals.

Referring to the bad condition of village roads in the district, which deteriorates during the monsoon, the former Speaker said heavy rains cause damage to roads and villagers found extremely difficult to go to cities and towns during the monsoon.

Tourism in the district was also in a bad shape on account of lack of road connectivity, he said demanded allocation of Rs 100 crore for development of roads in the district.