A letter written by a group of 30 Congress MLAs expressing dissatisfaction over the functioning of Ministers dominated the discussions at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here on Thursday and CLP leader and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah decided to call a meeting of legislators district-wise once a month to address their grievances.
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On transfers
With regard to transfer of officials, Mr. Siddaramaiah clearly told Ministers to approve the MLAs’ recommendations on transfers of officials at the taluk/constituency level such as sub-inspectors, inspectors, and tahsildars. He instructed Ministers to take decisions on transfer of officials at the district-level, sources said.
On the appointment of panchayat development officers as personal assistants (PAs) by MLAs, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge took exception to it and opposed such appointments as it would adversely affect the functioning and delivery of services of panchayats.
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Noting that the government was formed owing to election of MLAs, the Chief Ministers reportedly directed Ministers to listen to the grievances of legislators on priority.
Senior MLAs such as B.R. Patil, Basavaraj Rayaraddi, R.V. Deshpande, Vinay Kulkarni, and C.S. Nadagouda had expressed displeasure on the functioning of many Ministers and urged the Chief Minister to call a CLP meeting.
Instead of writing letters, which would cause an embarrassment to the government, Mr. Siddaramaiah also told MLAs to discuss with him their grievances or raise the issue at party meetings.
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The Chief Minister said he was not able to call a CLP meeting earlier as he was busy with preparation of the State Budget, legislature session, and the Opposition parties’ meeting in Bengaluru this month.
Don’t be trapped by BJP’s ‘lies’
The Chief Minister told Ministers and legislators not to get trapped by “lies spread by the BJP” on various issues and behave responsibly in the public.
On the release of funds to constituency development works, Mr. Siddaramaiah said it was not possible to give funds demanded by MLAs as the government had to spend close to ₹50,000 crore on implementation of the five guarantees. However, he assured them of releasing funds on priority.
The sources said some legislators expressed difficulty on meeting the demands of the people if sufficient funds were not given to them.