Karnataka: Congress strongman Ambareesh resigns after Cabinet reshuffle

It seems the reshuffling of ministers in Karnataka have created problems for Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah and the Congress party. Discontent simmered within the Congress party after actor-turned-politician Ambareesh today resigned as Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The MLA sent one line resignation letter addressed to the Assembly Speaker through his personal assistant.

Deputy Speaker Shivashankara Reddy, who is officiating as the Speaker’s post is lying vacant with Kagodu Thimmappa being appointed as the cabinet Minister, has not accepted the letter as the Member himself did not submit it.

“Ambareesh has sent a letter of resignation through some other person; any such letter will be considered valid if the member himself submits it. I have sent it back,” Shivashankar Reddy told PTI.

The resignation letter states he is resigning as MLA of Mandya constituency, without assigning any reason.

Ambareesh was the Housing Minister before he was dropped. He had earlier also served as Member of Parliament and was Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, but had resigned from the Lok Sabha membership, expressing dissatisfaction with the Cauvery Dispute Tribunal award.

Ambareesh’s supporters in Mandya continued their protest for the second consecutive day today. They had blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway yesterday.

Resentment is brewing within Congress after the reshuffle, with several dropped Ministers and those who were aspiring to join the cabinet openly expressing their unhappiness against the party leadership.

The ministers who faced the axe are: Qamarul Islam, Shamanoor Shivashankarappa, V Srinivasa Prasad, M H Ambareesh, Vinay Kumar Sorake, Satish Jarkiholi, Baburao Chinchansoor,Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, S R Patil, Manohar Tahasildhar, K Abayachandra Jain, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Kimmane Ratnakar and P T Parameshwar Naik.

Srinivasa Prasad and Islam are among others who have made no secret of their displeasure over being dropped. Supporters of Srinivas Prasad had called for a bandh in Chamarajanagar and Nanjangud today.

Similar protests by supporters of various aspirants Congress MLA’s and dropped Ministers have been reported from different parts of the state.