Bangalore, Jan 4
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's image of a politician keen on keeping 'tainted' people out of his council of ministers has taken a beating with the induction D.K.Shivakumar and R. Roshan Baig in the cabinet early this week. Both face corruption charges.
Siddaramaiah, who took over as chief minister May 13 after the Congress returned to power defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the May assembly elections, has been on the defensive since Jan 1 when Shivakumar and Baig were made cabinet ministers as he had resisted pressure for over seven months to induct them in the cabinet.
It was widely believed in political circles that he had kept Shivakumar out of the cabinet since he was facing charges of illegal mining though he is a prominent leader of the Vokkaliga community over which the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) headed by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda also wields influence.
Shivakumar's induction has been opposed by several admirers of Siddaramaiah, led by 94-year-old freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy. Noted Kannada writer and Jnanpith awardee U. R. Ananthamurthy also expressed dismay over Siddaramaiah backtracking on his stand of not making lawmakers facing corruption charges ministers.
The chief minister, however, has been defending his move saying Shivakumar and Baig were only facing charges and neither has been pronounced guilty by any court.
He has denied that he inducted them into the council of ministers at the diktat of the party high command, with which the two, particularly Shivakumar, had been lobbying hard for the last seven months.
Irrespective of whether Siddaramaiah has taken the two on his own or after a directive from the high command, the development has come in handy for the opposition, especially the BJP, to berate the chief minister for his U-turn.
By:IANS