Bengaluru: Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy Friday announced that he will tender his resignation from the post of minister, expressing displeasure over allocation of portfolio.
The minister said that he was promised the Bengaluru Development portfolio but was made minister for Major and Medium Irrigation projects.
The resignation comes after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar allotted the portfolios Thursday night.
“I am resigning from my post because I cannot work against conscience,” Reddy said at a press conference here.
He said, “How long can I tolerate this humiliation, and what else were the options before me?”
“Twice they called me and promised to give me that (Bengaluru Development) portfolio, but in the end, it went to someone else. That is why I feel hurt. Therefore, today I am resigning,” Reddy told reporters, while asserting that he would continue in Congress and remain as MLA.
The development marks the first major challenge for the Shivakumar government, which assumed office Wednesday.
Reddy, an eight-time MLA from Bengaluru, said he had never lobbied for ministerial office or sought any specific department from the party leadership during his five-decade-long political career.
“I never asked Siddaramaiah for the Bengaluru Development portfolio. He voluntarily offered it,” Reddy said, recounting events after the formation of the previous Congress government between 2013 and 2018. He also served as Transport Minister under Siddaramaiah from May 2023 to May 2026.
He said that before Shivakumar took oath as chief minister, he met him in connection with recommending a party leader for an MLC seat and did not raise any demand for ministership or a portfolio.
“I never asked him to make me a minister. I never asked Siddaramaiah to include me in the Cabinet. I never approached the high command,” he said.
Reddy maintained that he had not sought any specific department even during the latest Cabinet formation.
Asked whether he would reconsider his decision if persuaded by the party leadership or offered the portfolio he wanted, Reddy replied with a firm “no”.
“I will remain in the Congress party. I will continue as a Congress MLA. There is no second thought about that,” he said.
The veteran leader said he bore no personal grudge against any leader despite his disappointment over the developments.
“I have no anger towards Siddaramaiah. I have no anger towards Shivakumar. I have no anger towards Kharge. I have no anger towards the high command,” he said.
When asked whether the episode amounted to humiliation, Reddy turned the question back on reporters. “Let me ask you a question. What should I have done? You tell me.”
The Congress leadership made a last-ditch attempt to persuade the disgruntled minister during the course of the press conference, but Reddy remained firm in his decision and indicated that his resignation letter would be sent to the government through intermediaries rather than being submitted personally.
“I will send it. I won’t go personally. I don’t want to,” he said.
When leaders approached him with high command message, Reddy said that the time has now lapsed to pay heed to any suggestions.
The development came on the day AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are in Bengaluru to submit Kharge’s nomination for Rajya Sabha. Also, it happened when the municipal elections in Bengaluru were round the corner where Reddy holds sway in a large part of the city.
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