Has SMK?camp got a foot in the door?
KPCC president Parameshwar meets S.M. Krishna, fuelling speculation of his entry into the cabinet.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2013-11-24 10:21 GMT
Bangalore: KPCC president Dr G. Parameshwar on Saturday met veteran Congress leader S.M. Krishna, fuelling speculation of his entry into the cabinet.
Sources in Congress said Dr Parameshwar reportedly explained to Krishna that he, as KPCC president, was not opposed to cabinet expansion. His stand assumes significance in the wake a growing demand within the party for an immediate expansion of the cabinet, and induction of at least two members of the upper House. Several legislators are lobbying for berths in the cabinet as the number of vacancies has risen to five with the exit of infrastructure and information minister Santosh Lad.
Stepping out of his meeting with Krishna, the KPCC president merely said he discussed the exit of Lad and the political situation in the state. He was all praise for Lad, saying he quit on his own, and in the process enhanced the image of the party. Launching a broadside at BJP leaders, he said “we do not resign after coming out of jail.”
The KPCC president was evasive about joining the cabinet as deputy chief minister. “The party has given me some responsibility. My agenda is to win more than 25 seats (In next year’s elections to Lok Sabha. I am concentrating on that. As far as my becoming DCM, it is left to the AICC president,” he added.