Former Chief Minister and coalition’s coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah on Monday clarified that there is no proposal before the coalition government to drop Ministers. However, he admitted that a decision had been taken to fill up the vacant berths in the Cabinet. Speaking to the reporters in Mysuru, Mr. Siddaramaiah ruled out a reshuffle of the portfolios. The three Ministerial berths, which were vacant in the coalition government, will have to be filled up by one from the Congress and two from the JD(S).
“We have decided to fill up one vacancy caused by the death of C.S. Shivalli”, he said. Mr. Shivalli, who died in March, was the Minister for Municipal Administration. The JD(S) is also expected to fill up its share of two vacancies. When asked whether the coalition leaders had a proposal to drop a few Ministers and accommodate others to douse the dissidence, Mr. Siddaramaiah categorically denied that there were any such plans. He dismissed reports suggesting the same as a creation of the media.