Karnataka: Clashes in Congress ahead of swearing-in ceremony, protests by supporters of Rudrappa Lamani demanding ministerial berth
Of the new ministers included in the list of 24 cabinet ministers released by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), 12 do not have any prior ministerial experience.
The newly elected Congress government in Karnataka will expand the cabinet today. The swearing-in ceremony of the full cabinet consisting of 24 ministers will take place at Raj Bhavan at 11.45 am on Saturday (May 27). At the same time, before the swearing-in ceremony, there has been an uproar in the Karnataka Congress. Supporters of Karnataka Congress leader Rudrappa Lamani protest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, demanding a ministerial berth for the leader.
Demand for minister post to Rudrappa Lamani
One of the supporters of Congress leader Rudrappa Lamani said, “The name of our Banjara community leader Rudrappa Lamani was in the list till last night but today we saw that his name was not there. We will protest if our leader does not get ministerial berth as we have given 75% of our vote to Congress in elections so there should be at least one leader from our community.” Rudrappa Manappa Lamani won the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections from Haveri constituency.
24 new ministers will be included in the cabinet
After returning from Delhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sent the list of new ministers to the Governor’s office on Friday night. He said that the Congress has followed the norms of giving equal representation to all castes and regions while choosing ministers keeping in mind the principles of social justice. With the induction of 24 new ministers on Saturday, the strength of the Congress cabinet in Karnataka will reach its full strength of 34 ministers.
Earlier on May 20, 2023, along with the oath of office of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister, 8 ministers including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s son were also sworn in.
Ministers portfolios will be decided soon
The list of ministers includes eight Lingayats, including Lakshmi Hebbalkar, the only woman minister. Seven from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, five Vokkaligas, two Muslims, three from Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, 6 from Other Backward Class (OBC) groups including one Maratha, one Brahmin, one Christian and one Jain minister in the cabinet. given. The portfolios are expected to be decided on Sunday.
