Appointment of two Dy CMs irks Opposition

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The appointment of two deputy Chief Ministers in the Jagadish Shettar government continued to draw criticism with the Opposition addressing them as ministers in the Council and asserting that the post had no constitutional validity. When former chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda rose to defend the BJP saying the posts had been created as a mere political arrangement, Opposition leaders hit back saying such arrangements should not be imposed on the House. “No internal matter of the party can be above the Constitution of the country,” said Leader of the Opposition S.R. Patil.

Janata Dal(S) MLC M.C. Nanaiah said, “It was a mistake on the part of Mr K.S. Eshwarappa and Mr R. Ashok to take oath as DCMs. We will not address them as DCMs in the House.” To defuse the situation, Council chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy said the posts of deputy chief minister and deputy prime minister were not new. “Advaniji held the deputy prime minister’s post and in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, S.M. Krishna and J.H. Patel have been DCMs in the past. The DCM post exists in many states. The matter can be resolved only through a national debate,” Mr Shankaramurthy added.