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Minister in-charge of Bengaluru: Delay in appointment as AICC state in-charge Digvijay out of country

Delay in appointment as AICC state in-charge Digvijay out of country

Bengaluru: A day after the election of a new Mayor and his deputy, the garbage problem resurfaced with villagers of Bingipura turning away trucks of BBMP, signalling the urgency for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to appoint a senior minister exclusively to tackle problems plaguing the IT capital.

Though the Chief Minister’s camp maintained that discussions were yet to commence on the question of appointing a minister in-charge of Bengaluru, the leader has evidently made up his mind to keep his poll-eve promise. One option which Mr Siddaramaiah could consider is that one of the five ministers representing constituencies in Bengaluru be given the responsibility.

“Since they know the city well, one of them may be given the responsibility. Since R. Ramalinga Reddy is senior most, the chances of him getting the responsibility is also not ruled out because he served as Bengaluru development minister when S.M. Krishna was the Chief Minister,” sources close to the leader told Deccan Chronicle.

The process of designating a minister in-charge of Bengaluru, however, could take a long time as AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, now in the United States, would return end of the month. On his return, Mr Siddaramaiah would also discuss about the much-delayed reshuffle of his ministry and induction of new faces as the leader was keen to provide a facelift to his cabinet ahead of elections to zilla panchayats.

Reacting to how different the responsibilities of Bengaluru minister could be from that of his, Mr Reddy said: “The scope for any district-in-charge minister is very limited. As for the portfolio, corporation-related issues need not reach the minister nor does it require his approval. Since the Chief Minister is also the Bengaluru minister, he did not have time to look into the everyday affairs of the BBMP and other works. Hence, I used to take some decisions as the district in-charge minister.”

Five in the running

  • K. J. George
  • Ramalinga Reddy
  • Krishna Byregowda
  • Dinesh Gundurao
  • Roshan Baig
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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