Ramalinga Reddy Resigns From D.K. Shivakumar Cabinet Over Portfolio Allocation

Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy on Friday announced that he was resigning as a minister in the D.K. Shivakumar cabinet after being denied his preferred portfolio. He will continue to be a member of the Congress party as well as a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

The minister said he had been promised the Bengaluru Development portfolio but was instead assigned the Major and Medium Irrigation portfolio.

“I am resigning from my post because I cannot work against my conscience,” Reddy said at a press conference.

The development comes as a serious blow to the Shivakumar government, which took charge on Wednesday.

Felt Humiliated

“How long can I tolerate this humiliation, and what other options were before me? Twice they called me and promised to give me that (Bengaluru Development) portfolio, but in the end it went to someone else. That is why I feel hurt. Therefore, today I am resigning,” Reddy told reporters.

The eight-time MLA is a senior leader in the Karnataka Congress and has served as a cabinet minister several times, handling a variety of portfolios. He is also a working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

Reddy said he had never lobbied for a ministerial berth or a specific portfolio during his five-decade political career.

“I never asked Siddaramaiah for the Bengaluru Development portfolio. He voluntarily offered it,” Reddy said, referring to events during the previous government formation.

He also maintained that he had not sought any specific portfolio during the current government formation exercise.

“I never asked him (Shivakumar) to make me a minister. I never asked Siddaramaiah to include me in the Cabinet. I never approached the high command,” he said.

Congress Placating Reddy

Reacting to the news of Reddy's resignation, Shivakumar said he was a senior leader and that the issue would be resolved.

“Ramalinga Reddy is a senior leader and a close friend. We will sort it out,” the Chief Minister said.

Newly inducted Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge also downplayed the development, saying that Reddy is an “important leader both for the party and the state”.

When asked whether he would return to the cabinet if offered his preferred portfolio, Reddy replied in the negative.

Even while saying that he bore no grudge against any party leader, Reddy refused to submit his resignation personally and indicated that he would send it through intermediaries.

The development comes even as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge are in Bengaluru to file Kharge's Rajya Sabha nomination from Karnataka.