Allocate portfolios ‘useful to society’ to seniors: Muniyappa

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K.H. Muniyappa being sworn in as Minister in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: special arrangement

Refusing to take charge of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Dalit (Left) leader K.H. Muniyappa has said that the party should have allocated “portfolio that are useful for society” to seniors like him.

“The party should correct itself. Seniority has not been respected in the Cabinet. I had asked for either the Social Welfare or the Agriculture portfolio. Till the mistake is rectified, I will not take charge of the department,” Mr. Muniyappa told presspersons at Devanahalli, near here, on Friday.

Sources close to him said that Mr. Muniyappa is adamant about getting the Social Welfare Department. “With internal reservation among Scheduled Castes just being implemented after a long fight and legal wrangles, he wants to ensure that the benefit reaches the Dalit (Left) community, which is suspicious of intervention by the Dalit (Right) community. There are talks of giving the crucial department to a Dalit (Right) legislator,” sources said.

Stating that he would not resign because he “treated Congress like mother”, Mr. Muniyappa said, “I have been a loyal party soldier for the past 50 years. Seniority should be maintained in allocation of portfolios. Among the legislators, Ramalinga Reddy, R.V. Deshpande and I have won the most number of times.”

Warning that if the trend of seniors being ignored continued, the Congress could be in trouble in 2028, Mr. Muniyappa also pointed out that he had won eight elections.

Meanwhile, he has brought his disappointment to the notice of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.