Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jul 15: It is gathered that most of the legislators who have parted ways with the Congress have poured out their anger at the way chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, has been overlooking their demands, and the unbearable intervention of PWD minister, H D Revanna, in other departments including transfers. The brothers seem to be contributing to the fragility of their own government.
Out of 16 MLAs who have tendered their resignations, all except three to four have openly been saying that inaction by the chief minster on their demands, and unwarranted intervention in transfers, grants etc by PWD minister, H D Revanna, have fuelled their anger. The others have cited personal issues for resigning.
Many Congress legislators have been complaining since the beginning that since the coalition government was formed, JD(S) leaders had treated the government as their personal property. They have been claiming that the JD(S) leaders have been behaving as if Congress leaders are non-entities. Revanna has always been branded as the super CM of the state and Congress ministers and legislators had been expressing disgust about the way he was interfering with transfers in the departments unconnected to him.
It is said that the national leadership of the Congress, which was hell bent on retaining power in Karnataka, wanted the leaders to bear with Revanna's overtures till the Lok Sabha election concluded. Therefore, most of the leaders were keeping quiet, and bearing with a sense of insult and neglect they faced. It is said that even posts of personal secretaries of most of the ministers and office assistants were given to people suggested by Revanna and H D Deve Gowda. Therefore, several ministers are compelled to make do with personal secretaries whom they dislike.
The situation had come to such a pass that transfers of officials including district superintendents of police were being made at the recommendation of Revanna, and not as per the wishes of district in-charge ministers. Even in constituencies which are represented by Congress MLAs, JD(S) ruled the roost. There are allegations that Revanna has been posting his own men to strategic positions and getting work done as per his whims and fancies. Several MLAs have a grudge against Kumaraswamy for not releasing enough grants to their constituencies, and the Congress legislators too had to approach Revanna to get grants to projects in their own constituencies, it is said. Five Congress legislators from the city resigned as Revanna, who is PWD minister, interfered with Bengaluru development department. As projects worth Rs 16,000 crore were brought within the PWD department by Revanna, MLAs elected from the city outskirts had lost their importance. This is one of the reasons for their anger, it is learnt.
There is information that Revanna is insistent on getting the post of the president of Karnataka Milk Federation for himself, although Congress has seven members in the 13-member body and JD(S) has only three directors. Congress had planned to offer this post fo Hagaribommanahalli MLA, Bheema Naik, who is unhappy at not getting berth in the state ministry but Revanna has been blocking their efforts, it is learnt.
The Congress legislators are also angry at the helplessness of deputy chief minister, Dr G Parameshwara, in setting right the anomalies although he is the leading figure of the Congress in the coalition government. Many feel that Parameshwara failed to act against the lack of positive response by the chief minister to demands of his party MLAs and helplessness to the tactics employed by Revanna to get everything done as per his wishes.