I am no saint, want to be in Cabinet, says Basavaraj Rayareddi
Insisting that his letters to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will only help improve administration in the state, senior Congress lawmaker Basavaraj Rayareddi on Tuesday said that “he is no saint to relinquish power”, and being in active politics, he surely likes to be in the Cabinet.
Rayareddi, who has written letters to Siddaramaiah, complaining twice about officers and ministers not acting decisively in the last 100 days, told reporters that he has not sacrificed his aspirations and that he doesn’t know the “real reasons” for not being inducted into the Cabinet.
“I would like to clarify that not getting a Cabinet berth is not the reason for writing a letter to the CM. I am neither upset nor feeling left out about being not inducted into the Cabinet. I have shared a good bond with Siddaramaiah for the last 40 years and it continues even to this day. We have worked closely together. We both only think about the welfare of the state. This made me write a letter to the CM highlighting lacunae in the state administration. Even he (CM) has responded to my letters positively,” he explained.
The Yelburga MLA asserted that his letters were not intended to bring disrepute or to take any “leadership positions”. He also insisted that writing letters to CM highlighting lacunae in the administration also helps in tightening it. “In response to my letter, Energy Minister K J George convened a meeting, and there is a meeting scheduled with Infrastructure Minister M B Patil on Wednesday, to discuss about speeding up of the Gadag-Wadi railway line, which will be a gamechanger for Koppal district,” Rayareddi said.