CM to appoint board, corporation heads soon to pacify MLAs

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to announce the first batch of appointments of party legislators and functionaries as chairpersons of boards and corporations this week.

The move is seen as a strategy to pacify a section of legislators who have been complaining about some of the policies and programmes launched by the government and also the style of functioning of a few ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.

According to sources in the Congress, the first batch of appointments would be made before the end of the Belgaum session of the legislature. Siddaramaiah had come under fire by party legislators at the recent Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting as they did not like the government getting involved in controversies over the move to ban superstitious practices, implementing Shaadi Bhagya scheme and school study tours only for students from backward classes and minority communities.

Complaint

Some legislators had complained about the style of functioning of a few ministers. The legislators had also complained that ministers were not accessible and did not respond to  their requests. Siddaramaiah wants to keep the legislators in good humour by giving them administrative responsibilities, the sources said.

AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Digvijay Singh will visit Bangalore during the second week of December. Sources said he will convene the coordination committee meeting of the party where the issues raised by the legislators at the CLP and the cabinet expansion will be discussed.