Cabinet expansion talks have not taken place due to Gandhi's

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara Thursday said the discussion on cabinet expansion has not taken place because of congress president Rahul Gandhi's busy election schedule in five states.

Gandhi is busy with elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, and Telangana.

"The discussion over cabinet exansion has not taken place with Rahul Gandhi as he is busy with elections in five states," he told PTI here.

Talks on expansion gained pace last week following AICC general secretary incharge of Karnataka Venugopal's discussions with KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao and other state leaders.

The state party leadership, Parameshwara said, had urged the high command to expand the cabinet before the winter legislature session beginning at Belagavi from December 10.

"We have already conveyed this to K C Venugopal..he is supposed to discuss the matter with Rahul Gandhi," he said.

Asked when can the state leaders expect a discussion on the issue, Parameshwara said he was not in a position to make any guess, but hoped that it would happen sometime soon.

Recently, state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said the much awaited expansion of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition cabinet would take place within this month.

There are as many as eight vacancies in the cabinet, of which six would be alloted to the Congress and two to JDS, as per quota.