HDK clears four Cong appointments, keeps two hanging

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday cleared four Congress legislators to take charge as heads of various boards and corporations, but has left two other contentious appointments hanging.

Kumaraswamy appointed Yeshwantpur MLA ST Somashekhar as chairperson of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Shantinagar MLA N A Haris as head of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Bagepalli MLA S N Subbareddy to the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) and Hubli-Dharwad East MLA Abbayya Prasad as chairperson of the Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Development Corporation.

Sudhakar's fate in balance

The appointments of Chikkaballapur legislator K Sudhakar as the Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) chairperson and Doddaballapur legislator T Venkataramanaiah as chairperson of the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) are yet to be cleared. Sudhakar has been sulking and has threatened to raise a banner of revolt if his appointment was scuttled.

The appointment of legislators as chiefs of boards and corporations has been a bone of contention between the alliance partners, with KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and Public Works Minister H D Revanna of the JD(S) engaging in a public spat. While Kumaraswamy has reportedly kept Sudhakar’s appointment on hold, citing he was technically not qualified to head the KSPCB, Revanna is said to have opposed a Congress MLA heading the KRDCL that comes under his department.

The chief minister also appointed eight Congress legislators as parliamentary secretaries: K Abdul Jabbar, Anjali Nimbalkar, Ivan D’Souza, Koujalgi Mahantesh Shivananda, Roopkala M Shashidhar, K Govindaraj, K Raghavendra, Basavaraj Hitnal and D S Hoolageri. Another candidate initially recommended by the Congress - M A Gopalaswamy - has not been appointed.

These parliamentary secretaries will assist ministers in the formulation and implementation of policies.