CM taking entire cabinet to Delhi is insult to people

Bengaluru: Opposition BJP in Karnataka on Thursday took strong exception to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah taking his "entire cabinet" to New Delhi to meet the Congress high command, terming it "unprecedented" and "undemocratic" and an insult to the people of the state who have elected this government with a huge majority. Questioning whether the cabinet is reporting to Congress high command, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai alleged that Siddaramiah is a weak leader, compared to his earlier stint as the Chief Minister. "Siddaramaiah taking his entire cabinet to Delhi is unprecedented. Never in the history of Karnataka politics, a Chief Minister has taken his entire cabinet to the party high command," he said.

Speaking to reporters here, he questioned whether the cabinet is reporting to Congress high command. The cabinet is supreme in the state's administrative system and that supremacy has been "pleaded" before the Central leadership.

Noting that Congress general secretary incharge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala had earlier attended the officers' meeting here and had tried to interfere in the administration, the former Chief Minister said, the party high command asking all the ministers to appear before it when there are rains and flooding in the state, also drought in some parts, is really undemocratic.

On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah along with his cabinet ministers and party leaders from the state participated in a meeting with the Central leadership to discuss the party's strategy for the next Lok Sabha elections. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and senior leader Surjewala, were among those present.

Claiming that all is not well in Karnataka Congress, and there are charges made by ruling party MLAs about corruption, Bommai alleged that "when the very meeting was being held in Delhi, the cancellation of police officers transfers or withholding them shows, that Siddaramaiah has lost control over the administration."

The Congress high command asking the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues to come to Delhi within two months of forming the government shows that Siddaramiah 2.0 is not like Siddaramiah 1.0, and "Siddaramiah 2.0 is a weak leader, when compared to Siddaramiah 1.0, he said."