Udupi envies Dakshina Kannada for its share in cabinet, seeks more for itself

Udupi, May 19: Siddaramaiah's cabinet has magnanimous four cabinet berths for Tuluvas. While that is the reason for a celebration, there exists a sense of remorse in Udupi Congress circles where the feeling is that Dakshina Kannada district has got more representation when compared to Udupi.

Due to this feeling of injustice the district has not been able to smile for a cabinet berth to Vinay Kumar Sorake. For the Congressmen of Udupi, the feeling of Sorake being an outsider is overshadowing the fact that he is the MLA of Kaup constituency.

The berth to Mr Sorake is being perceived as an opportunity given to someone who originally comes from DK district rather than being a representation to Udupi through Kaup MLA. The Udupi Congressmen say that they would have been happy if the berth was given to a MLA originally hailing from Udupi rather than offering it to a Udupi MLA hailing from DK district.

Various permutations and combinations have begun in the temple town. While new meanings are being attached to Mr Sorake making it to the berth, there are many who are out with several alternate solutions.

“Instead of giving three berths to DK and one to Udupi, the numbers could have been divided equally between the two districts,” say many.

“If the berths were divided equally then there would have been meaning to social and regional justice. Because of Mr Sorake the Congress has lost Mr Vasanth Salian. This is only going to cause further complications within the party circles,” say several party workers seeking attention of the senior leaders.

The party workers say that according to the data available, 10 districts of the state have not got representation in the Cabinet. However, the representation that Udupi has got is close to zero and Udupi can be conveniently called the eleventh district which has not got representation.

“It is rather unfortunate that even after the division Udupi is still considered as a part of undivided Dakshina Kannada district. It is due to this wrong notion that Udupi's representation in many ways has been taken away. It has been carved out of the undivided DK district a decade ago. Still calling the districts as undivided DK district is wrong,” says a partyworkers on conditions anonymity.

A sense of suspicion too has gripped the Congressmen in Udupi. They feel that senior leaders from the Congress too are behind the scenes nurturing the injustice.

“In the past we have seen great leader and father of development of the region who toiled and brought in huge development only in Mangalore region. Ministers like Veerappa Moily and Oscar Fernandes too did the same. We fear that even Mr Sorake will repeat the same pattern of development which will be Mangalore centric,” they say.