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Bengaluru, Oct 11 (IANS) Rejecting Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar’s statement that cabinet expansion in the state is a rumour, senior Congress leader and MLC Salim Ahmed on Saturday said the party is considering a cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka after the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in Haveri, the Congress MLC said, “Some ministers may be dropped from the Cabinet to focus on strengthening the party organisation, while new party leaders may be considered for ministerial berths.”
He said both the Congress high command and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are deliberating on the cabinet reshuffle, but the final decision will be taken by the party high command.
He said, “When the Congress government was formed in Karnataka in 2023, I should have been included in the state cabinet, but my name was dropped at the last moment. I have been working for the party organization in the state for the last 43 years. I am confident that I will get a chance during the upcoming cabinet reshuffle.”
Meanwhile, reacting to Karnataka Food Minister KH Muniyappa’s statement that he would quit his post if his daughter becomes a minister in the state, Muniyappa’s daughter and MLA Roopkala M said, “I should get a post only when I am eligible. I don’t want a post that comes because of my father’s sacrifice.”
Speaking at KGF’s Betamangala village in Kolar district, she said, “If I am eligible at the government level, I should be given a ministerial post. I don’t want the post because of someone else’s sacrifice.”
Responding to the rumors of cabinet expansion in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Shivkumar has said that the ongoing talks regarding cabinet expansion are just rumours.
He was speaking to the media after interacting with people during the “Bengaluru Walk” event at Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bengaluru on Saturday.
When asked about Cabinet expansion in Karnataka, Shivakumar said, “There is no Cabinet expansion and no authority. Some media houses are publishing baseless news. For any proposal on this, either the Chief Minister or I will have to give a suggestion. If none of us have proposed it, then it is just false news. People speak in a hurry in front of the media. Whatever it is, the Congress high command will decide.”
–IANS
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