Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH File Photo
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Cabinet reshuffle issue did not come came up for discussion during the meeting with the Congress top brass.
The CM and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met the party top brass here to discuss the issue of Bengaluru stampede.
“The issue of Cabinet reshuffle was not discussed in the meeting,” Siddaramaiah told media after the meeting. He clarified that he has not said the Cabinet would be reshuffled soon.
Earlier, there was a speculation that the party top brass may ask the chief minister to go for minor reshuffle of the Cabinet including change of Home portfolio which is currently held by G Parameshwara as part of damage control exercise due Bengaluru stampede.
On Enforcement Directorate (ED) seizing Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) assets related to probe on illegal site allotments, the CM said, “Let them seize if they found illegal. I have no issue”
Fresh MLC nominations
Sources in Congress told DH that the party high command told the chief minister said they would send fresh list of names for nominations for Karnataka Legislative Council.
Separately, Deputy Chief Minister and Congress state unit president D K Shivakumar said the party high command will review the names and send the communication to the CM.
The Congress top brass had asked Siddaramaiah to
put on hold the recommendations of four names for nomination as members of Karnataka Legislative Council following objections from Shivakumar.
The chief minister has recommended four names - Dalit activist D G Sagar, senior journalist Dinesh Amin Mattu, Congress’ communications chief Ramesh Babu and Karnataka NRI Forum deputy chairperson Arathi Krishna.
The CM office requested the Governor office to put on hold the request.
Several state leaders had objected to the names saying the party loyalists should be made MLCs and not newcomers.
Shivakumar has said that party state unit was not taken into confidence while finalising the names.
However, the chief minister told the party top brass that these names were approved by the AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge office, source said.