Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's announcement of the list of seven ministers to be inducted into his 17-month-old cabinet has triggered resentment within the state BJP.
Several ruling party legislators have expressed serious reservations about MLCs not elected by the people being made ministers, lack of representation to certain regions - with most ministers still from Bengaluru and Belagavi districts - and that their "seniority or sacrifice" was not considered.
Mr Yediyurappa, earlier in the day, announced that MLAs Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali, Murugesh Nirani, CP Yogeshwar, S Angara, and MLCs MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar will be sworn-in as ministers, following which several BJP MLAs expressed their discontent.
Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who has been critical of Mr Yediyurappa, accused the Chief Minister of making appointments under blackmail, without considering seniority or honesty.
Ministerial aspirant and MLC, AH Vishwanth, who was among the MLAs from the Congress-JD(S) coalition that resigned in 2019 and switched over to BJP, hit out at Mr Yediyurappa for not keeping his promise.
Demanding to know why Excise Minister H Nagesh was dropped and RR Nagar MLA Munirathna was not inducted, he said, "It is because of their sacrifice you are CM today...instead, you are making Yogeshwar a minister, who has fraud and cheating cases against him. Why are you making him minister, is he blackmailing you?" he asked.
Honnali MLA and Chief Minister's Political Secretary, MP Renukacharya, another ministerial aspirant, has expressed his displeasure, stating that the government was limited to two districts and that the CM and party leaders have to look into it.
"Injustice has happened to Hyderabad Karnataka, central and coastal Karnataka regions. It (government or cabinet) is limited to Bengaluru and Belagavi... I'm upset, to whom should I tell this," he told reporters, adding that he has never lobbied for a ministerial post and cannot set aside his self-respect.
Considered a Yediyurappa loyalist, Mr Renukacharya, who met party General Secretary in-charge of the state, Arun Kumar, on his arrival at the airport today, also expressed reservations about five MLCs in the cabinet. "We have been elected by the people (As MLAs), what's the use?"
Six-time MLA GH Thippareddy, who represents Chitradurga constituency and has been sulking for some time now said he feels "let down" after being in politics for five decades and as legislator for 30 years, as he did not get an opportunity to serve the people as minister.
Expressing surprise over MLC Yogeshwar being named as minister, he said more than half the ministers in the cabinet are either from Bengaluru or Belagavi and that some who worked against the interest of the party during elections have also been made ministers.