Bengaluru: Claiming that it was he alone would decide on cabinet expansion, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that he would meet party central leaders and discuss various issues including the cabinet expansion issue. Speaking to reporters at the Janata Darshan at his home office, ‘Krishna’ here, Mr Siddaramaiah said, “Yes, they (Party central leaders) have given me a free hand to take a decision on when the cabinet expansion should be carried out in the state and who should be selected. But I am going there (Delhi) to invite President, Dr Pranab Mukherjee to our state. Since I will be there (Delhi) I will also seek an appointment to meet AICC president, Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders.”
He emphasised that there was no formal meeting fixed with Mrs Gandhi as of now, but he would definitely seek her appointment once he lands in Delhi to meet her. “Once I get an appointment, we will definitely discuss issues related to state politics including appointment to boards and corporations and cabinet expansion too,” he snapped while responding to a question. Answering another question, the Chief Minister asserted that the issue of creating the post of deputy chief minister in his cabinet had not been discussed at the central level and has been discussed widely in the media alone.
“I need not answer or discuss everything about my party or issues in the public or in the media. Let me clarify one thing, I have not opposed the creation of the DCM post but I have maintained all through that the creation of any such post needs the stamp of approval from party central leaders, which is the set norm in the Congress party’s culture,” he retorted.
