Highlights:
- On January 13, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa expanded his 17-month-old cabinet and have assigned various portfolios to his ministers
- BS Yediyurappa has induced seven ministers in his cabinet and he also dropped H Nagesh, who held the Excise portfolio
- The Yediyurappa’s cabinet currently has 33 ministers, whose overall strength is 34
A week after widening his cabinet, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa today allocated portfolios to the seven new inductees and also effected a reshuffle of the departments of some ministers.
Umesh Katti gets the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs among the new ministers, while Fisheries, Ports and Inland Transport is provided to S Angara.
According to an official gazette notification released in this respect with the approval of the Governor, Murugesh Nirani will be the Minister of Mines and Geology and Arvind Limbavali will receive the Forest Department.
Among the others, R Shankar is in charge of the Municipal Administration and Sericulture portfolio while MTB Nagaraj will be the Excise Minister, CP Yogeshwar will be in charge of Minor Irrigation Department.
JC Madhuswamy has been divested of Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Minor Irrigation portfolios and assigned departments of medical education, Kannada and culture in a major reshuffle.
Mr. Madhuswamy was the main minister who used to put the government’s strong defence in the Assembly.
As an additional portfolio, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai was given the Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation department.
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Anand Singh, who has now been given the Tourism portfolio in addition to Environment and Ecology, who was earlier in charge of the Forest Department, while the responsibility of the Department of Medical Education has been taken back from Minister K Sudhakar of Health and Family Welfare.
CC Patil, who previously held the portfolio of Mines and Geology, has now also been given responsibility for the Department of Small-Scale Industries and Information and Public Relations.
Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari has been relieved from the responsibility of the Department of Fisheries, Ports and Inland Transport and will now have a Muzrai and Welfare Department and Backward Classes.
While the Department of Haj and Wakf has been withdrawn from Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan, the Department of Sugar has been divested from Labour Minister A Shivaram Hebbar.
The CM of Karnataka has retained The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), Cabinet Affairs, Finance, Bangalore Development, Energy, Intelligence, Planning, Program Monitoring Statistics, Development of Infrastructure and all unallocated portfolios with himself.
Sources have told the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) that some ministers are resentful of their allotted portfolios and are likely to meet with the Chief Minister in this regard.
Mr Yediyurappa had extended his 17-month-old cabinet on January 13, ending a long wait, by inducting seven ministers as he also dropped H Nagesh, who held the portfolio of Excise.
Several MLAs have expressed serious concerns about MLCs (Member of Legislative Council) not elected by people being made Ministers, lack of representation with most ministers still from the districts of Bengaluru and Belagavi, as well as not being considered for their “seniority or sacrifice”.
The cabinet currently has 33 ministers, whose overall strength is 34.
