Karnataka Cabinet Reshuffle Sparks Violent Protests

Vehicles, including government buses, in Kalaburagi were vandalised after the cabinet reshuffle. This image is for representational purposes. (Photo Courtesy : Twitter/@BlrCityPolice)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday carried out a major reshuffle of his cabinet as he removed 14 ministers and inducted 13 others in his three-year-old ministry, sparking violent protests in the state.

Governor Vajubhai R Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to nine new cabinet ministers and four ministers of state at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru.

The nine cabinet ministers are Kagodu Thimmappa, KR Ramesh Kumar, Basavaraja Rayareddi, Meti Hullappa Yamanappa, Tanveer Sait, SS Mallikarjuna, MR Seetharam, Santosh S Lad and Ramesh Laxmanrao Jarkiholi.

The four ministers of state are Priyank M Kharge, Eshwara Kandre, Pramod Madhwaraj and Rudrappa Manappa Lamani.

This change, aimed at removing non-performing ministers from the cabinet, has seen supporters of sacked ministers take to the streets resulting in sporadic incidents of violence across the state.

Enraged supports of Qamar Ul Islam took to vandalising an old Congress office at Kalburgi, about 650 km from Bengaluru.

Protest rallies were also taken out in Mandya district for sacking Kannada actor MH Ambareesh, who served as the state’s Housing Minister before the reshuffle. Ambareesh on Monday resigned as MLA from Mandya.

Traffic disruptions were also witnessed near Bengaluru as supporters of Vijayanagar MLA M Krishnappa protested in his constituency.

Humnabad in Bidar district was also brought to a standstill as supporters of Rajashekar Patil, took out a motorcycle rally in the town and forced owners to shut down their shops.

In a related development, supporters of Mallikayya Guttedar damaged vehicles, including government buses, in Kalaburagi to protest the denial of a ministerial berth to him despite assurances.

(With IANS inputs.)