Bengaluru: Amid an immense political furore over the Bengaluru stampede that claimed 11 lives, Congress’ top brass is considering sweeping changes within the party’s Karnataka unit. Speculations have been rife that a cabinet reshuffle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka has been on the cards.
Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar met with the Congress high command in New Delhi on Tuesday. While the two leaders publicly denied any discussion on a rejig, reports suggest that the matter came up for discussion during the meeting.
While Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar maintained that there was no discussion on a cabinet reshuffle during their meeting with the Congress top brass in New Delhi on Tuesday, party insiders told The New Indian Express that the issue did come up for discussion.
The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has been under fire over stampede that occurred in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium during the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team’s IPL victory celebrations on June 4. As many as 11 people lost their lives and 0ver 40 were injured. The opposition BJP has been criticising the Congress government in the state, demanding the Chief Minister and his deputy’s resignation.
As per reports, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been upset with the party’s Karnataka unit upset over the Bengaluru incident and is likely to make sweeping changes within the party’s state unit. According to the New Indian Express, the party is considering keeping the reshuffle on hold for a while and take up the exercise in November as it feels that making any changes now could send out the wrong message. The party’s high command is expected to direct Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to drop non-performing ministers and those embroiled in controversies.
