A week after Yeddy took charge, K'taka still without Cabinet; Oppn demand answers

Bengaluru: It has been a week since BS Yediyurappa took oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the state has no Cabinet. Yediyurappa is the only minister in his Council of Ministers. Meanwhile, both the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have lashed out at the BJP for still not being able to form a cabinet.

After the oath ceremony, Yediyurappa was planning to fly to New Delhi to finalise the list with high command but the meeting got delayed due to their unavailability during the ongoing Parliament session.

According to News18 report, a close associate of Yediyurappa said, “He wanted to have a Cabinet immediately. It seems that the high command has applied the brakes. There are many factions and he has to accommodate them all. The issue regarding the disqualified MLAs has to be addressed first. Yediyurappa is a man of his word and he does not want to ditch them, which is why the Cabinet formation is taking time.”

A few days ago, a delegation of several Lingayat leaders had met Yediyurappa, demanding that at least four cabinet berths be allocated to a particular sub-caste. Yediyurappa told them he had to accommodate several disqualified MLAs who had sacrificed their positions for him.

Since the disqualified MLAs have challenged the decision of the Speaker in Supreme Court, Yediyurappa cannot accommodate them unless the apex court gives a stay and restores their position.

“There is no government in Karnataka. There are no ministers and governance has come to a standstill. The state is facing a severe drought and the government is only interested in power, not the welfare of the people,” the opposition said in a statement.