Karnataka: Congress removes 2 ministers, fills 6 cabinet posts

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday recommended six names for cabinet posts and also announced the removal of two ministers, Ramesh Jarkiholi and R Shankar.

"We are filling six remaining cabinet posts and replacing two ministers. Ramesh Jarkiholi and R Shankar have been removed," Rao said while addressing the media here.

The KPCC president said that the two ministers have been removed as they were unable to fulfil their duties. "It is basically done on the basis of their performance. Again after one year, we will be doing an overall evaluation of all the ministers. We cannot have ministers who are not performing," Rao added.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, KPCC president has recommended a total of 12 names for the post of Parliamentary Secretaries, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Special Representative in New Delhi and Political Secretary to Chief Minister.

Names of MLC A. Abdul Jabbar, MLA Anjali Nibalkar, MLC Ivan D' Souza, MLA Manthesh S. Koujalagi, MLA Roopa Shashidhar, MLC K. Govindaraj, MLA Raghavendra K. Hintal, MLC MA Gopalaswamy and MLA Durgappa Hulageri have been recommended for the post of parliamentary secretaries. MLA Sharnabasappa Darshanapur, MLA Dr. Ajay Singh and MLA V.Muniyappa have been recommended for the post of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Special Representative in New Delhi and Political Secretary to Chief Minister, respectively.

Elaborating upon the future prospects of the party, Rao asserted: "Congress party has many deserving people who can become ministers. Unfortunately, this is a coalition government and we only have a certain set of ministries and we have to accommodate all districts, regions, and communities, so we have to take decisions accordingly. After two years, there will be a rotation in the cabinet whoever has not got the opportunity now, may get it then."

Earlier today, senior leader and former minister HK Patil was appointed as the Chairman of the Campaign Committee of KPCC. Patil will succeed Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar.

Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) as alliance won four out of five seats in the recently-held Karnataka bye-polls.