‘Govt not functioning’, Karnataka minister says in clip

Bengaluru: With a Karnataka minister's alleged remarks that the “government is not functioning, we are somehow managing” causing embarrassment to his administration, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday tried to do damage control by stating that the comments were made in a “different context”.

As the remarks made by law and Parliamentary affairs minister J.C. Madhuswamy have drawn criticism from some ministers, with one of them even advising him to quit the ministry, Bommai said he will talk to all cabinet colleagues concerned.

“The context was different, so there is no need to take it in a wrong sense. He (Madhuswamy) had spoken specifically with respect to some cooperative related issue. Things are fine, there is no problem,” Bommai said.

A purported phone conversation between Madhuswamy and Bhaskar, a Channapatna-based social worker, had gone viral on Saturday.

“We are not running a government here, we are just managing, pulling through for the next 7-8 months,” Madhuswamy can be heard telling Bhaskar in response to his complaints against a cooperative bank.

Speaking about the controversy, Madhuswamy said, he has spoken to the Chief Minister and has given his clarification.

“The CM is convinced...if he seeks resignation I will give. If it does good to the CM and the government I won't think about it even for two minutes,” he said.            —PTI