A.H. Vishwanath, former Minister and BJP MLC, on Monday sought a Ministerial berth for Mysuru region and also batted for inclusion of S.A. Ramdas, former Minister and BJP MLA representing Krishnaraja Assembly constituency in Mysuru, into the Ministry.
Fielding reporters queries, Mr. Vishwanath said Mysuru was the divisional headquarters and compared the representation Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and Belagavi divisions have received in the BJP Ministry. It is not just Mysuru district which has no Ministerial berth, even the neighbouring districts of Hassan, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar do not have representation in the Ministry, he rued.
He argued that Mysuru was a politically strong region, which had given two Chief Ministers to the State – D. Devaraj Urs and Siddaramaiah. Many development works for the State started from here. It is not that there was no suitable candidate for a Ministerial berth in Mysuru, he said, and referred to Mr. Ramdas, a senior BJP leader, who had already served as a Minister. Mr. Vishwanath also hoped that Mysuru would be represented during the next expansion of the Ministry as there were four more vacant slots in the Ministry headed by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Mr Vishwanath displayed his displeasure over the short notice at which MLAs and MLCs of the district were invited to meetings by Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar, who was also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district.
“Mr. Somashekar is in the habit of inviting MLAs and MLCs on his way to Mysuru from Bengaluru. He will have us all called for meetings when he is in the car proceeding to Mysuru. Are we all unemployed to drop whatever we are doing to rush to his meetings at such a short notice,” he questioned.
He said he expected the Minister to be more disciplined and have a system in place for arranging such meetings. “There should be atleast 24 hours’ notice for any such meetings,” he said.
With regard to the State government’s plan to reopen schools, Mr. Vishwanath said the officials should hold meetings with parents, teachers, students and experts before taking such important decisions. “What purpose will be served if they hold such meetings with politicians,” he said while claiming that politicians without any children will also give their opinion on crucial matters like starting schools in the midst of a pandemic.
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