K’taka Cabinet rejig: Home to MB Patil, DyCM gets IT/BT

The Congress high command has given the plum portfolio of the Home department to senior legislator MB Patil, divesting Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara of the charge. 

According to the new list of portfolios AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Vengopal has sent to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Parameshwara has been given the IT/BT, Science & Technology, Law and Parliamentary Affairs portfolio in addition to Bengaluru City Development. 

Parameshwara was reportedly miffed at the idea of letting go of the Home department portfolio. 

@DrParameshwara and @DKShivakumar give up Home and Medical Education respectively. Portfolios allocation in @INCKarnataka @DeccanHerald #CabinetExpansion #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/XmJkRralmE

— Sandesh Mysore (@SandeshMysore7) December 28, 2018

An official notification is yet to be issued on the allocation of portfolios. 

The other allocations made by the Congress high command are as follows: Satish Jarkiholi - Forest, Ecology and Environment; CS Shivalli - Municipalities; MTB Nagaraju - Housing; E Tukaram - Medical Education; PT Parameshwar Naik - Muzrai, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood; Rahim Khan - Youth Empowerment & Sports; RB Timmapur - Port & Inland Transport and Sugar. 

While DK Shivakumar has been divested of the medical education portfolio, he has been given Kannada & Culture and Information & Public Relations. 

Eight Congress legislators - seven from North Karnataka - were inducted into the Cabinet on December 22. With that, the Congress now has 22 ministers in the 34-member Cabinet. The current size of the Cabinet is 32 as the JD(S) is yet to fill up two positions.