Need new blood in Karnataka Cabinet:: Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday strongly backed the induction of "new blood" into the cabinet, asserting that the old guard cannot continue indefinitely and that fresh thinking is essential for the party’s future. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he backed the first-time MLAs' demand to give them space in the cabinet. "The party needs new blood and new thinking. I support fresh blood," the deputy CM said, underlining the need for generational change. Shivakumar, on a group of first-time Congress MLAs writing to senior party leaders seeking induction into the Cabinet during a reshuffle, says, “I am not aware of it.”

VIDEO | Karnataka: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, on a group of first-time Congress MLAs writing to senior party leaders seeking induction into the Cabinet during a reshuffle, says, “I am not aware of it.”

(Full video available on https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/mfzzOI8cnQ

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He was reacting to a query on first-time MLAs writing to senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking representation in the state cabinet during the proposed reshuffle. In a joint representation addressed to the Congress high command and the state leadership, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the legislators urged that at least five first-time MLAs be inducted as ministers.
Former Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily said that first-time Congress legislators can be given ministerial berths during the proposed Cabinet reshuffle if they have the requisite merit. Moily responded to reports of over 30 first-time Congress MLAs seeking Cabinet positions by stressing the need for a Cabinet with a balance of merit among first-time, young, and senior leaders. “We entered politics when the Chief Minister Devaraj Urs recognised us in 1972. If legislators have merit and dedication, they can be included in the Cabinet,” he said.Addressing demands for a change in Chief Minister and current talk of a Cabinet reshuffle, Moily reiterated that legislators are expressing aspirations, not groupism.

(State Correspondent)