BANGALORE: Even if the Congress high command accedes to the demand of some Congressmen to make KPCC president G Parameshwara the deputy chief minister, they all have to wait till June 2014 for a vacancy to be created. A person inducted into the cabinet has to be member of either House of the Karnataka legislature. If not, has to become one within six months. There are four vacancies in the cabinet and if Parameshwara is inducted now has to become a a member of either the legislative assembly or council by January.
“The Congress does not follow the BJP culture of making an MLA resign to accommodate another person. As many as 16 vacancies including four in the nominated category will be created in June 2014, which is the earliest, Parameshwara can get into the cabinet,” Congress sources said.
Presently there are three vacancies of MLCs who have got elected to the assembly. These three seats are from the local bodies’ constituencies where the Electoral College comprises members of panchayat and civic bodies. The party would prefer to give tickets to the rank and file to contest from these seats.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh’s statement that there was no such proposal of a deputy chief minister is said to have been made in this context. “It is too early to even contemplate inducting Parameshwara into the cabinet as nothing can be done until the year end,” sources said.
Parameshwara lost the assembly elections from Korategere constituency in Tumkur district. His close aides want him to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Chitradurga. Another alternative is nominate him to the Rajya Sabha in the vacancy caused by Anil Lad who won the Bellary city assembly seat.
Parameshwara said he had left the entire issue to the high command. “Even if I am appointed now, I will have to resign in January for a week and be reappointed, as there is no vacancy. Two to three legislators have offered to resign to create a vacancy, its left to the high command,” he added.
Coordination panel: Three days after Singh announced that a coordination panel would be constituted to monitor policy decisions of the state government, a debate has started on its purpose. While a section feels the panel is being constituted to rein in Siddaramaiah and his cabinet from taking unilateral decisions, others like PWD minister H C Mahadevappa claim otherwise. “The committee is not to rein in Siddaramaiah. It will monitor the implementation of election promises made by the Congress,” he added.
Senior MLC M V Rajasekharan, whose letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi triggered the panel said: “A core committee exists at the national level and the relationship between PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia is good. Unless and until the party gives confidence to the Karnataka’s electorate that it will deliver results, the Congress cannot be strengthened.”
