Bengaluru, May 14 (DHNS): A senior citizen, a Muslim woman, a girl student and a transgender joined Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet colleagues to mark the inauguration of Jana Mana to celebrate the completion of three years of the Congress government in office.

The message was clear and sometimes deliberate that it is a government for all.

Held at the Babu Rajendra Prasad International Convention Centre on the GKVK campus, the seating arrangement of the ministers on stage also sent across a strong message. Siddaramaiah was flanked by ministers Roshan Baig and K J George, with the organisers trying the time-tested ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’ secular formula. Siddaramaiah loomed large on and off the stage. Cutouts of the chief minister had been placed at every nook and corner of the campus. On the stage, every photo or video displayed had a frame of Siddaramaiah.

During the interaction with the beneficiaries of various welfare schemes of the government, Siddaramaiah sat on a revolving chair amid the invitees. He did not speak much, but paid attention to what the beneficiaries had to say. There were compliments galore but only little criticism - sometimes it looked everything was stage-managed as there was hardly any spontaneity when the beneficiaries spoke.

The interactions were held in 10 batches with the beneficiaries from three districts pooled into each batch. The convention centre, said to be the largest in this part of the world, was decked up for the occasion. Two replicas of a farmer with bullock cart were placed at the entrance of the convention centre to send a message that the government accorded top priority to the agriculture sector. Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah’s residence witnessed a steady stream of visitors with bouquets, garlands and sweets to wish him on completing three years in office.

11 ministers skip the show

From the government side, only Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spoke at the event. Of the 33 members in Siddaramaiah’s Council of Ministers, 11 were absent. But those present only had witness the event as they were not allowed to speak or intervene even during the interaction with beneficiaries.

Ministers who remained absent include R V Desphande, B Ramanath Rai, V Srinivasa Prasad, H C Mahadevappa, M H Ambareesh, Manohar Tashildar, K Abhayachandra and U T Khader. Khader’s office sent a message that he was busy with Kerala Assembly polls.