HDK appoints 14 Cong MLAs as heads of boards, corporation

Bengaluru: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday, January 6 appointed 14 Congress MLAs as heads to boards and corporations.

He has also issued orders appointing eight Congress legislators as parliamentary secretaries.

However, Kumaraswamy has not made any appointments to the posts of deputy chairman of the planning commission, special representative in Delhi and political secretary to the chief minister, to which the Congress had suggested names of its legislators.

Out of the 19 boards and corporations for which the Congress had recommended its MLAs for posts of chairman, the chief minister Sunday issued orders of appointment for only for 14 of them.

According to coalition arrangement, both parties had decided to fill up chairpersons to 30 boards and corporations of which 20 will be for the Congress and 10 for the JD(S).

The JD(S) is yet to appoint its legislators as heads to boards and corporations and also parliamentary secretaries.

MLAs appointed as head of boards and corporations include BK Sangameshwar (Karnataka Land Army Corporation), B A Basavaraj (Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited), Munirathna (Karnataka Skill Development Corporation), Shivaram Hebbar (North West Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation), Lakshmi Hebbalkar (Mysore Minerals Ltd).

However, head posts for few boards and corporations have not been filled as recommended by the Congress, including Dr K Sudhakar for the State Pollution Control Board and Venkataramanaiah for the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL).

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

Congress MLA Venkataramanaiah’s appointment to KRDCL is said to have been opposed by Gowda’s son and PWD Minister Revanna, stating that it came under his department.

The Congress had forwarded its list of 19 legislators for posts of chairman of boards and corporations to the chief minister soon after the cabinet rejigs on December 22, but according to sources, the move had irked the JD(S) leadership as they were allegedly not consulted.

The Congress recommending some of its legislators as heads to boards and corporations that come under departments controlled by JD(S) ministers, had angered the regional party, leading to Kumaraswamy delaying the appointment.

JD(S) leaders and Kumaraswamy were also angered by the grand old party’s move to appoint its MLA V Muniyappa as political secretary to the chief minister.

There were also reports that Congress MLAs had set a deadline of Monday evening, miffed over the delay in appointments to boards and corporations, failing which they had planned to meet on Tuesday to decide on the further course of action