BENGALURU: In a first for Karnataka in recent times, newly sworn-in minister Shankar Patil Munenkoppa faced embarrassment when he had to take the oath twice in four hours on account of a gaffe by him — he read the oath of office twice but forgot to read the oath of secrecy.
Munenkoppa was all smiles as he was a surprise inclusion in the Basavaraj Bommai government. However, he appeared quite serious at the time of taking oath. While governor Thawarchand Gehlot administered the oath, Munenkoppa read the oath of office first. He read it again, thinking it was the oath of secrecy. It’s said he forgot to turn the page.
No one realised the faux pas and Munenkoppa signed in the ministers’ registry as per protocol and took the blessings of party seniors. Though he hadn’t been sworn-in technically, he even attended his first cabinet. However, soon Raj Bhavan officials called chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and alerted him of the gaffe. Kumar, according to sources, rushed into the cabinet hall and alerted Munenkoppa and the CM about the issue, asking the former to head to Raj Bhavan to take the oath again.
“It was extremely embarrassing for the government as we had to redo the entire act. Munenkoppa was sworn-in in front of the governor for the second time and ensured that this time both the oaths were recorded,” said a government official.
Munenkoppa was unavailable for comments at the time of going to print.
“...Shankar B Patil Munenkoppa while taking oath of office and secrecy as minister has taken oath of office twice and has not read oath of secrecy. He was recalled to Raj Bhavan and the governor administered the oath of office and secrecy once again,” read a communique from Raj Bhavan.
Lone woman minister rushes from Delhi to take oath
Shashikala Jolle, the lone woman minister in the new cabinet, rushed to Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru half an hour after her flight from Delhi landed and was allowed to move in zero traffic from the airport. Jolle, a Lingayat, was among the 29 ministers who took oath. She had been inducted as cabinet minister in the Yediyurappa government, but there were reports she would be dropped.
