Kumaraswamy appoints Cong MLA as head of PCB

In a move seen as an attempt to pacify disgruntled Congress legislators, the coalition government in Karnataka on Thursday appointed MLA Sudhakar K as the chairman of the state pollution control board.

Sudhakar has tweeted confirming his appointment. In his tweet, he thanked AICC chief Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah, chief minister Kumaraswamy, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and party colleagues "who have vested their belief in me to chair the KSPCB."

Sources said, retired IFS officer C Jayaram has resigned as chairman to make way for Sudhakar.

Sudhakar has repeatedly expressed his displeasure over not being inducted into the coalition cabinet.

Though Sudhakar's name was recommended by Congress for the State Pollution Control Board in the past, it was reportedly not cleared by the Chief Minister citing technical reasons.

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy had earlier clarified that Sudhakar's appointment was opposed as the Supreme Court guidelines had specified a certain qualification for the post.

Expressing his displeasure then, Sudhakar had said it is for the party high command to look into the issue as the recommendations were finalised at the level of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

"It is the question of Congress' pride. Despite getting 80 seats (in assembly) today for what good reason have we ceded power to the JD(S), the party has to look into and decide..we cannot kneel down helpless," he had said. In another move seen as an attempt to pacify disgruntledCongress legislators, Kumaraswamy had recently transferredBangalore Development Authority commissioner Rakesh Singh, allegedly under pressure from BDA chairman and Congress MLA ST Somashekhar.

Somashekhar in the past had made his differences with the official public.

The coalition leaders were likely to appoint a few disgruntled MLAs as chairmen to some boards and corporations, that are still vacant or by asking some senior bureaucrats holding the post to vacate, sources had said after the cabinet expansion that saw the induction of two independents as ministers on June 14.

The two-R Shankar and H Nagesh were inducted into the ministry overlooking the claims of several senior leaders, particularly in the Congress, who are sulking ever since they failed to make it to the ministry earlier.