Former MLA Rakesh Kalia returns to Congress after a brief stint in BJP
He joined the BJP in 2022 after being denied a Congress ticket to contest the Assembly elections from Gagret in Himachal Pradesh.
The West Bengal CM was purported to be seen displeased and expressing her displeasure to Karnataka’s Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP) Neelamani N Raju.
Day after the informal ‘secular alliance’ showcased its strength at the swearing-in ceremony of Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy as the 24th Chief Minister of Karnataka, reports have now emerged that something that happened before or after the mega event that might have irked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
So, what made Mamata Banerjee upset?
As per an NDTV report, the TMC supremo was unhappy with the traffic arrangements for the oath-taking ceremony. The report shows a video, attributed to ANI news agency, in which the West Bengal CM was purported to be seen displeased and expressing her displeasure to Karnataka’s Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP) Neelamani N Raju. She reportedly complained that traffic arrangements made on the big day was not adequate.
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As per reports, Mamata was angry as she had to walk a considerable distance to reach the Vidhana Soudha (state Assembly) for the swearing-in ceremony, as a number of vehicles blocked the route to the venue.
The video also shows a visibly perturbed Banerjee sharing her discontent with Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister HD Gowda and later proceeding towards the dais to greet other senior leaders.
#WATCH: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reprimands DIG Neelamani Raju as she came to Karnataka Vidhana Soudha for oath taking ceremony because reportedly had to walk a few metres, also expressed discontentment to HD Deve Gowda & HD Kumaraswamy. #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/WZ2n0QVE9b
— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2018
Bengaluru’s traffic woes did not seem to anger Aam Aadmi Party leaders who had to walk to the swearing-in venue.
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha took to Twitter saying: “Bengaluru traffic beats every city in the country. We walked to the swearing-in venue. Beautiful weather made up for it though”. He also shared images.
Bengaluru traffic beats every city in the country. We walked to the swearing-in venue. Beautiful weather made up for it though. pic.twitter.com/PT9nauyWuk
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) May 23, 2018
On Wednesday, HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the 24th Chief Minister of Karnataka, while G Paramweshwara, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief, took the oath of office of the deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, in a power-packed swearing-in ceremony at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru which was attended by the who’s who of anti-BJP opposition leaders from across the country.
Among those who attended the ceremony were Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former UP chief ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
Kumaraswamy, whose party JD(S) formed an alliance government in the state with the Congress, took the oath administered by Governor Vajubhai Vala. While the JD(S) have 38 seats with ally BSP, the Congress have 78 in their bag.
In the new government, Congress’s Ramesh Kumar, a former minister, will be the next Assembly speaker, while the deputy speaker’s post will go to the JD(S). The Congress will have 22 ministers and JD(S) 12, all of whom would be sworn-in after the floor test slated for Friday.
Kumaraswamy was the second Chief Minister to take oath in Karnataka within a week, after BS Yeddyurappa stepped down without facing the floor test on 19 May in the face of an imminent defeat in spite of his party winning 104 seats.
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