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India: All ministerial positions filled to give new touch to governance, says Karnataka CM

The five election guarantees will be discussed, approved and implemented soon, says Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said all the 34 cabinet berths have been filled with an intention to impart a new touch to governance in the state.

He said the decision to fill all the sanctioned ministerial posts was taken to fulfil the promises made by the Congress in its election manifesto.

"A full-fledged cabinet has been formed in the state. Apart from the chief minister, 33 posts have also been filled. Allocation of portfolios will be done by today or tomorrow," he told reporters.

Explaining the nature of the state cabinet, the chief minister said that it is a mix of new and old faces. He said that those legislators who won for the first time were not made ministers.

"The government should fulfil the promise we have given. People want change. This cabinet was formed with a view to give a new shape to the administration," Siddaramaiah explained.

The chief minister hit out at the opposition, which has been mounting pressure to implement the five guarantees that the Congress has promised.

"The opposition parties have not fulfilled their promise. We have fulfilled our vows in the past. We will continue to do the same. It has been instructed to table the details of the five guarantees in the next cabinet meeting," Siddaramaiah said.

He added that the five party guarantees would be discussed, approved and implemented soon.

To a query, Siddaramaiah admitted that Kodagu, Haveri, Hassan, Chikmagalur and a few other districts did not get representation because of the party's parameter that a first-time MLA will not be made a minister.

In its manifesto, Congress promised five guarantees — 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10kg of rice free for every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (Yuva Nidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

The party leaders had promised that within a few hours of coming to power, the Congress government would fulfil these guarantees.