The Congress, after a lot of political games, was able to form the government in Karnataka and it somehow convinced the Janata Dal (Secular) and its own ministers to stay loyal during the trust vote on the assembly floor. Although, the Congress leadership might have gotten a lot of satisfaction from keeping BJP out of power in the state, the problems for Congress though had just started with H.D. Kumaraswamy being given the CM post in Karnataka. A tussle ensued between JDS and Congress ministers over distribution of important positions in the cabinet. Congress was in a spot. It could not go against the JDS and also could not hurt its own ministers.
Senior Congress leaders M B Patil, Roshan Baig, Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundurao, Shamanur Shivashankarappa and Satish Jarkiholi were left enraged after they failed to get a portfolio in the cabinet of H.D. Kumaraswamy. Congress also had to keep in mind to not disrespect the large Lingayat voter base of Karnataka who would rebel if their community leaders were left out of the cabinet. Congress has come up with a new plan to counter the dissatisfaction in its own camp. The unique plan was revealed to the Times of India by All India Congress Committee General Secretary in charge of Karnataka, K C Venugopal.
As told by K C Venugopal to TOI, “This is not the final cabinet. The ministers’ performance will be reviewed every six months and those not meeting targets will be asked to go. For the time-being, no first-time MLA will be inducted into the cabinet. The six berths which have not been filled will be kept on hold. The ministers’ tenure is on a rotation basis for two years,”
This rotational plan is the brainchild of central and state leaders who have decided to use it as an excuse to pacify its own ministers. This performance based rotation plan had earlier been thought of during the Siddaramaiah rule as well, but it could never work out in the past. This will never work in the coming future as well, for every minister from whom a portfolio will be snatched will be dissatisfied and hence create further problems for the coalition. A six-month assessment of ministers is like mid-term exams, it makes us wonder whether the Congress is planning to run a government or a school in Karnataka. With random changes in the cabinet taking place Karnataka will suffer the most. Discontented leaders and their supporters will further create roadblocks in the smooth functioning of the government. JDS has already played games with the Congress in the past and they are not likely to leave any chances for causing rift in the Congress.
The party leadership, by taking this decision, has turned democracy into a complete farce. The worst part is that they are moving from one ridiculous step to the next just to stay in power and to keep the BJP away from it. From overriding the mandate given by the people of Karnataka, to imprisoning MLAs in resorts to keep them from joining hands with BJP, the Congress have done it all. All these issues, combined with the decision to put JDS, a party which had been badly rejected by the voters of the state and the most recent innovative plan to rotate ministers, the Congress is committing one error after the next just to stay relevant in Indian politics. What the party leadership fails to understand is that they are setting a bad precedent for the future. They are digging their own grave with these acts.
