Better to declare all ministers as deputy CMs: K'taka BJP

Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G. Madhusudhana on Tuesday said it is better to declare all ministers as deputy chief ministers as many are lobbying for the post.

"It is better to declare all ministers as deputy chief ministers and there will be only one chief minister, perhaps that will be better. Nowadays deputy CM post has become a ridicule," Madhusudhana told IANS.

He said rural development and panchayat raj minister K.S. Eshwarappa and others are also lobbying for the deputy CM post.

Madhusudhana said Karnataka currently has three deputy CMs in Ashwath Narayan, Govind Karjol and Laxman Savadi but highlighted that accommodating the 12 legislators, who resigned from the previous government to bring the BJP to power, is also important.

"We will have to accommodate them, it is our bounden duty. They have sacrificed their seats, contested the election and won. So we will have to be grateful. And that will be done," said Madhusudhana.

Though he did not reveal the names, he said 3-4 senior BJP leaders will also be inducted into the cabinet.

Madhusudhana specially mentioned that S. Angara, a dalit politician from Sullia constituency did not make a hue or cry despite not being made a minister.

"Angara has been winning continuously since 1994. This is the sixth term he has won and he is a dalit. Still he has not been accommodated," he said when enquired about Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramulu lobbying for the deputy CM post.

Madhusudhana also pointed out that many regions in the state were left behind and not represented in the cabinet.

"None from Mysore district are accommodated, none from Hassan, none from Chamarajanagar, none from Mandya district. There are so many districts which are vacant. At the same time there are so many ministers coming from Belgaum and Bangalore city," he told IANS.

However, he said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is a senior politician who knows how to handle it.IANS