Amid rumblings of dissent, Kumaraswamy plays down Jarkiholi outburst

Disgruntlement within the Congress triggered by the H D Kumaraswamy ministry rejig in Karnataka continued to simmer Monday with miffed ministerial aspirants pouring out their anger publicly.

Sulking over being dropped as a minister, Ramesh Jarkiholi indicated his plans to quit as party MLA and said he would make his decision public in four days. Supporters of another senior state Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy staged a protest after holding a meeting here and expressing displeasure about their leader not being considered during the cabinet expansion Saturday.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy sought to play down the developments, saying such "emotional reactions" were common and he would speak to the sulking leaders and pacify them. His father and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda dismissed any threat to the government and said it was stable and the alliance will 'efficiently' fight the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In the much-awaited exercise, the six-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition ministry headed by Kumaraswamy was expanded Saturday with the induction of eight members from the national party. However, it was marked by rumblings of dissidence as several senior Congress MLAs are upset over their exclusion, with legislators including Reddy, B C Patil, B K Sangamesh and Bheema Naik coming out openly to give vent to their anger.

Meanwhile, allocation of portfolios to the newly inducted ministers is also getting delayed. Sources said the wait is on for the arrival of Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal as there was growing demand for plump portfolios among the new ministers. Reacting to the development, Kumaraswamy said, he will speak to Jarkiholi, Reddy and otherMLAs and pacify them.