Updated

Bengaluru, Oct 13 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday succeeded in "convincing" BJP's Valmiki leader B. Sriramulu to accept his new portfolio.

Sriramulu had been miffed after his portfolio was changed from the Health ministry to Social Welfare.

Yediyurappa carried out a minor reshuffle on Monday, by taking away the Health and Family Welfare Ministry from Sriramulu just ahead of Mysuru Dasara, which is slated to open on October 17.

Although he was made the Social Welfare Minister, sans the Backward Class Ministry, the reshuffle had reportedly upset Sriramulu.

To show his displeasure, Sriramulu started using private vehicles, discarding his official vehicles, to meet leaders in the state, which strengthened rumours about his being upset with Yediyurappa.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Yediyurappa at the CM's home office here, Sriramulu said he is "convinced" and "very happy" to be the Social Welfare Minister.

"I think CM has thought in the right direction. He told me that he did not remove me for my underperformance but all that he wanted was to ensure that the Health and Family Welfare Ministry is with my colleague Dr K. Sudhakar who is a doctor himself," he explained.

Incidentally, Sriramulu was in the news recently following reports that he had expressed a wish to become the Deputy Chief Minister when he visited a temple.

In response to a question, Sriramulu asserted that he was neither 'miffed' nor 'upset' with anyone over the cabinet rejig.

"What is there to be angry about?" he questioned and remarked that he wished his cabinet colleague (Dr. Sudhakar) to achieve all the success as the state was registering almost 10,000 Covid positive cases daily.

"I do not wish to be seen as an impediment in protecting people's health. I had asked for the Social Welfare department in the beginning itself, but under changed circumstances the department has come to me now. I will work hard to bring a good name to this government," he said.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Health and Family Welfare Minister, K. Sudhakar who too had accompanied Sriramulu to the CM's home office, asserted that the change in cabinet portfolios should not be seen as a "demotion" but a "promotion" for Sriramulu's hard work. "He has worked to get there and he has got it," he said.

Earlier report

Bengaluru: Divestment of portfolio - Objecting to timing, Sriramulu to write to leaders, may resign

Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 13: Minister B Sriramulu, it is said, is agitated over the withdrawal of the health and family welfare department as well as the backward classes department he was holding, and vesting him with the social welfare department instead. He is particularly incensed by the timing of his ouster which appears to suggest that the chief minister (CM) is unhappy with the way coronavirus infection was being handled by him.

Sriramulu has already expressed his willingness to leave the ministry, but the leaders have pressurized him to stay back. His main grouse is that the people will deem this as mistrust of the CM on his ability to handle the health department. As soon as the information about change of his portfolio was received, Sriramulu went to the residence of the chief minister in his personal car and waited for an hour to meet him. He could meet Yediyurappa for only five minutes, but at the end he remained as unhappy as he was before he met the CM. After that, he expressed his plan to resign as minister, it is gathered. He now plans to write a detailed letter to national leadership, explaining the things he accomplished in the health department during the last one year, state-wide tour he undertook to control coronavirus etc. He will ask the leaders to relieve him from the ministry and allow him to get involved with the party's organizational work.

In the meanwhile, deputy chief minister Govind Karjol, who met the chief minister and discussed the matter of withdrawing the all-important social welfare department, said later that he had no complaint about the department having been taken away as he was holding additional charge of the department. He said he has not demanded for any other departments and he has never sought specific departments so far.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, D K Shivakumar, has already commented that his party's charge about the failure of the government to regulate coronavirus spread has been proved by the fact that the health minister has been stripped of this portfolio. He also said that the government has accepted its failure after a lot of people lost their lives.