Bengaluru
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday brushed aside resignation threats from Congress MLAs upset over being left out of the cabinet expansion, saying the government would not bow to pressure from within the party.
The chief minister’s remarks came a day after the long-awaited cabinet reshuffle left several Congress legislators disappointed. While some voiced their frustration publicly, Indi MLA Yashavantarayagouda V Patil resigned from the Assembly, and supporters of a few ministerial hopefuls staged protests in different parts of Karnataka. With 19 new ministers sworn in on Monday, only one position remains vacant in the 34-member cabinet.
Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar dismissed resignation threats from Congress MLAs upset over the recent cabinet expansion, stating the government won’t yield to internal pressure and emphasizing that party interests precede personal ambition.
Party above personal ambition
Making his position clear, Shivakumar said individual aspirations should never come before the party.
“Resignations are nothing new in politics. No one can stop anyone from resigning. But if they are concerned about their political future, they must remember that the party comes before everything else. Without the party, there is nothing,” he told reporters.
He also sent a strong message to those considering quitting.
“If anyone submits a resignation, I will accept it within minutes,” he said.
‘I too had to wait’
Shivakumar urged disappointed legislators to exercise patience, recalling that he himself had been overlooked for a ministerial post in the past.
“I was not made a minister during the governments of Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah, but I did not resign. Parameshwara also had to wait. During Veerendra Patil’s tenure, leaders like Bangarappa, Mallikarjun Kharge and Dharam Singh were not included in the cabinet. Yet Bangarappa and Dharam Singh eventually became chief ministers. Politics requires patience,” he said.
Cabinet expansion leaves many disappointed
The cabinet expansion was designed to strike a balance between regions, communities and competing factions within the Karnataka Congress. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office to the 19 new ministers at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru on Monday.
Even so, several senior MLAs and ministerial hopefuls were left out, triggering resentment within the ruling party. The Congress leadership now faces the task of calming internal discontent while trying to maintain a united front ahead of the political challenges that lie ahead.
