JOIN USThe ruling BJP, which had withheld the expansion of its Cabinet for the last eight months, will take it up in the next 15 days, said BJP president K S Eshwarappa on Wednesday.
Addressing reporters in Bangalore, Eshwarappa said the senior leaders of the party and its MLAs want the expansion of the Cabinet, and that shortly 11 vacant portfolios will be filled, he said, adding the party high command would soon announce its decision on this.
Eshwarappa also said the signature campaign undertaken by his party MLAs under the banner ‘Samana Manaskara Vedike’ was not an anti-party activity, as their demand was for the party to expand the Cabinet, which had been placed before the high command.When questioned about the war of words through ‘vachanas’ between Yeddyurappa and Sadananda Gowda, Eshwarappa refused to be drawn into it, saying the two leaders had merely expressed their opinions.
He also said the party was well aware of MPs and MLAs siding with Independent MLA B Sriramulu, and added that notices had been served to MPs who had participated in Sriramulu’s padayatra and that disciplinary action would be initiated against them.
The party would organise a massive dalit morcha convention in Mysore on May 18 and the Yuva morcha convention in Mangalore on May 22, he said.
Vedike’s demands
The Vedike is said to have asked the party leadership to remove senior leaders who have served as ministers for two terms (during the coalition and the present term), and use them for election activities.
As many as 49 MLAs have signed this representation, which will be submitted to Sadananda Gowda, Yeddyurappa, Ananth Kumar, Eshwarappa and RSS leaders.
Chandrakant Bellad, C T Ravi, D N Jeevaraj, Appachu Ranjan, Kalakappa Bandi, Krishna Palemar and others have signed the memorandum.
Senior MLAs, who have been loyal to the party, should be given due recognition, and those who have remained confined to their constituencies, concentrating on their businesses, should be removed from the Cabinet, they have demanded.
The MLAs held their second meeting at the Legislators’ Home on Tuesday, to finalise a list of names of MLAs who should be inducted into the Cabinet and a list of those who should be removed.