'Will speak to him', says BSY on Kumathalli's betrayal remark

Bengaluru: Amid rumours that the Karnataka cabinet expansion is likely to take place on Monday, BJP MLA from Athani Mahesh Kumathalli has said denial of a ministerial post to him will send a wrong message.

A day after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa managed to get the green signal from the party high command for expansion of the six-month-old cabinet in the state, Kumathalli on Saturday reminded the CM of the promises made to him ahead of the bypolls.

“During the bye-election from Athani, in front of some 30,000 to 35,000 people he (Yediyurappa) had said unequivocally that Srimant Patil of Kagwad and Mahesh Kumathalli will be made ministers and hence people should bless them,” Kumathalli, a former congress MLA, told reporters here.

“Never had it occurred to us in the remotest corner of our mind that he will ever desert us. If such things happen, then it will send a wrong message,” he reminded the Chief Minister.

However, he was confident that Yediyurappa will not desert him because “he is a man of his word who never backtracks from his promise and his opponents too say the same thing about him.”

When asked about Kumathalli’s statement, Yediyurappa curtly replied, “I will speak to him.”

Eleven disqualified Congress-JDS MLAs had won the December bypolls on the ruling party ticket.

With the high-command reportedly not keen on making all the 11 re-elected legislators ministers, whom Yediyurappa has given assurance, it will not be an easy task for the chief minister, who has to ensure adequate representation to various castes and regions in his cabinet.

Currently there are 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister in the cabinet that has a sanctioned strength of 34. Sixteen berths are still vacant.

In addition to pressing the BJP leadership hard for ministerial berth, some MLAs are reportedly after plum portfolios.

According to BJP sources, Gokak BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi wants water resource portfolio.

However, the Chief Minister is non-committal, they added.

Last year, the then assembly speaker had disqualified 17 Congress and JD(S) legislators after they revolted against the coalition government leading to its fall on July 13.

Of them, 13 had contested the bypolls held for 15 assembly seats and barring A H Vishwanath (Hunsur) and M T B Nagaraj (Hoskote) all others emerged triumphant as BJP candidates.

Opposition parties have been targeting the BJP and Yediyurappa over the delay in the cabinet expansion, alleging he was weak and that his administration had collapsed.