Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy signs orders on board chiefs, withholds 5 names

BENGALURU: Ending the suspense, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday appointed chairpersons to major boards and corporations while withholding five names shortlisted by the Congress.
The CM also issued orders appointing eight parliamentary secretaries, excluding Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy, daughter of veteran Congress leader B Ramalinga Reddy. MLC K Abdul Jabbar has replaced her.Reddy had reportedly refused to take up the job after her father, a seven-time MLA, was not inducted into the cabinet in the recent expansion.
These appointments were done to buy peace with senior Congress legislators, who failed to make it to Kumarswamy’s cabinet. It has, however, opened a Pandora’s Box with some MLAs openly refusing to take up the job and others seeking better positions.
As a result, appointments were not made to the coveted Bangalore Development Authority, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and BMTC. The appointments of five legislators — Sudhakar, NA Haris, ST Somashekar, T Venkatramanaiah and SN Subbareddy — were withheld owing to tiff between the coalition partners and power tussle between two senior Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and Prameshwara. Sudhakar refused to take up the job in protest. Among the parliamentray secretaries shortlisted by the Congress, MLC M A Gopalswamy’s name was withheld for political reasons.