Cabinet formation by Friday, says G.T. Deve Gowda

Mysuru: JD(S) MLA in Chamundeshwari G.T. Deve Gowda said at a press conference in Mysuru on Tuesday that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will soon form his Council of Ministers. He said that the delay in Cabinet formation was because Congress President Rahul Gandhi was on a foreign tour. While he admitted that there were many aspirants for ministerial berths in the JD(S), he denied reports of a rift in the Congress-JD(S) coalition over the issue.

Gowda said that all MLAs from the coalition might be aspiring for Cabinet berths and that it was nothing to worry about. “Kumaraswamy is taking all factors into consideration before forming his Cabinet, with an eye on running the government for the full five years,” he added. He informed that the matter was being discussed with senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and that a decision will be taken by Friday.

When asked whether Chief Minister Kumaraswamy will complete his full term of office, Gowda said that the matter was taken up with the leaders of the coalition and that a decision was awaited. About the longevity of the coalition, he said that though there was some bad blood between the parties in the run-up to the polls, they had now decided to forget the past and work together for the State’s progress.

He criticised the BJP for “spreading falsehoods” about the delay in Cabinet formation. He said that the coalition government was here to stay. “The next big aim is to win the Lok Sabha elections,” he added. He also attacked the BJP for employing “bandh politics” with respect to farm loan waiver, without giving the CM any time to act. He also pointed that the bandh had a poor response in the State.

“People are watching everything and are aware of who is doing what. Farmers should not end their lives and should stay calm as Kumaraswamy will soon bring relief to them,” he said. He also defended Kumaraswamy’s statement about the loan waiver issue. He said the CM had only stated the fact that he was not given the majority vote, because of which he could not take a decision on his own.

Gowda also said that former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had not announced farm loan waiver when he was heading the BJP government in 2008. Even as the Finance Minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government, he had taken more than a year to announce waiver of Rs. 2500 crore worth of farm loans. Gowda promised that he would make an announcement about farm loan waiver on Wednesday as he had consulted the coalition partners.