Actor-activist Chetan Ahimsa, who tweeted ‘Hindutva built on lies’, sent to 14-day judicial custody

Bengaluru, May 27: Karnataka got a full cabinet on Saturday, with 24 Congress MLAs taking oath as ministers, a week after chief minister Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and eight other ministers were sworn in.

The Congress on Friday announced the names of 24 more ministers, taking the strength of the cabinet to 34, the maximum allowed under the law.

Of the new names, six hail from the Lingayat community, four from the Vokkaliga community, three from scheduled castes, two from scheduled tribes, and five from other backward classes. The Muslim, Jain, Brahmin and Namdhari Reddy communities have one representative each in this list. Only one woman is part of the cabinet.

The announcement came after four days of hectic deliberations between Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and the Congress leadership in Delhi, attempting to strike a balance between the aspirations of leaders from different castes, regions and allegiances. This was made particularly tricky given the Congress’s impressive victory, the best in the state since 1989, winning 135 seats in the 224-member assembly.

Here's the list of ministers who took oath:
HK Patil
Krishna Byre Gowda
N Cheluvarayaswamy
K Venkatesh
HC Mahadevappa
Eshwar Khandre
Kyathasandra N. Rajanna
Dinesh Gundu Rao
Sharanabasappa Darshanapur
Shivanand Patil
Timmapur Ramappa Balappa
SS Mallikarjun
Tangadagi Shivaraj Sangappa
Sharanaprakash Rudrappa
Patil Mankal Vaidya
Laxmi R Hebbalkar
Rahim Khan
D. Sudhakar
Santhosh S Lad
NS Boseraju
Suresha BS
Madhu Bangarappa
Dr MC Sudhakar
B Nagendra

 
Hailing the Bharat Jodo Yatra's role for its success in the Karnataka assembly polls, the Congress on Saturday said in the clash of narratives between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the yatra, the cross-country foot march is a "clear winner".

The Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' entered Karnataka on September 30 at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagara district. It passed through Chamarajanagara, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary and Raichur, traversing a distance of over 500 km in about 22 days in the state.
 
The march had seen massive crowds during its stay in the state with people from all walks of life joining it. It was hailed as a success but many had raised questions over its electoral impact.

Many in the party feel it has played a critical role in boosting the Congress' electoral fortunes in the state and its impact is there for everyone to see.

Talking about the yatra's role in Cong's performance in the southern state, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh told PTI, "It was the Sanjeevini for the party. It energised the organisation and instilled a deep sense of unity and solidarity among leaders and workers."
 
"The Bharat Jodo Yatra started a particular narrative in Indian politics which the people of India were waiting for," Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said when asked about the yatra factor.

"In Karnataka, the Bharat Jodo Yatra spent about 22 days. If you remember the visuals of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi being drenched in the rain and continuing his speech in October, I think these visuals have stayed in people's mind," he told PTI.

The message of the yatra has resonated across the country but more so in Karnataka, Khera said while also crediting the poll campaigns run by former party chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

"The guidance that we all got from our seasoned leader Mr Kharge (Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge), the result is there for everyone to see," he added.

Referring to the Kanyakumari to Kashmir campaign headed by Rahul Gandhi who walked some 3,000 km over three months, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed said, "The Bharat Jodo Yatra made a lot of difference.

Asked if the yatra had passed the test of electoral impact, Khera said the foot march had nothing to do with elections.

He, however, said, "Elections are a clash of narratives, in the clash of narratives between Narendra Modi versus Bharat Jodo Yatra, I think the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a clear winner."

Bengaluru, May 18: Senior Congress leader G Parameshwara on Thursday cautioned the party's central leadership that if a Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) post is not given to a Dalit, there would be adverse reaction and it would spell trouble for the party.

The 71-year-old Parameshwara, a Dalit, was deputy chief minister during Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy. He was also the longest-serving Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief (eight years).

His veiled warning came hours after the Congress announced that Siddaramaiah would be chief minister and D K Shivakumar would be his only deputy.

To a question about Shivakumar having allegedly put a condition to the leadership that he should be the only DCM, Parameshwara said, "What he has said might be right in Shivakumar's point of view, but high command's viewpoint should be different. High Command has to decide, we expect them (high command) to..."

On whether injustice has been done to Dalits by not giving a DCM post to the community, he said the people, especially the Dalit community, have huge expectations.

"Understanding these expectations, our leadership will have to make a decision. If it doesn't happen, naturally there will be reactions for it. There is no need for me to say it. Instead of realising it later, if they rectify it now it will be better. Or else it may cause trouble for the party. I would like to tell them to understand it," Parameshwara said.

He said he was an aspirant for both the posts of CM and DCM.

"I was both chief minister and deputy chief minister aspirant but now we have to abide by the decision of the high command, so let's see what they will do in the days to come. For now they have made announcements about the two, we will have to wait and see how they will do justice during the cabinet expansion," he said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "The high command has announced CM and DCM. Siddaramaiah is becoming CM for the second time from our party, we expect him to provide good administration. Expectations of people are huge on us because of the promise of good administration in our manifesto. I welcome the decision and expect them to take all of us into confidence in giving good administration."

Parameshwara, who represents Koratagere in Tumakuru district, had lost the 2013 assembly polls, when he was KPCC president. He was a contender for the chief minister's post then, but as he was defeated, he was made an MLC and a minister in the Siddaramaiah government (2013-2018).

Responding to a question about "none of them" (Dalits) having asked for the DCM post with a strong voice, Parameshwara said a strong voice doesn't mean shouting with a demand.

"We have asked (for posts)...I hope the high command will pay attention to it, as people have voted for us and have contributed to Congress coming to power. We have to keep this in mind and move ahead," he said.

Earlier in the day, before Congress's official announcement naming Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar as CM and DCM, respectively, Parameshwara in response to a question on whether he would ask for a DCM post, said, "What is there to ask? They should give. As I was DCM earlier, I expect them to give. Let's see..."

Objecting to Shivakumar's alleged demand that he alone should be DCM, he said, "One person alone should be in power (and) others should not be is not a right stand. Everyone has contributed towards the party coming to power. All communities have contributed, and naturally, justice should be done to them."

Pointing out that Dalits, Lingayats, and minorities have strongly stood by the Congress party in the polls, he said the Congress has won in 35 out of 51 Dalit seats.

"Along with that, in two general seats the community candidates have won, so it is totally 37. The Dalit votes have made an impact in several other segments," he said.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats respectively.