Mangaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 25 : A day after 31 Congress MLAs wrote to top leadership demanding representation in the cabinet, Congress leader M Veerappa Moily pointed out that everyone starts somewhere and emphasized merit over experience.
He said "lobbying" isn't the way to become a minister.
"We were all newcomers at one point. When I entered politics at the age of 22, Devaraj Urs was the Chief Minister. Even at that time, new faces were given opportunities. Therefore, it is not morally right to say that new representatives should not be given a chance... If there is merit, anyone can become a minister... It is not possible to become a minister through lobbying," he told reporters a day earlier.
This comes after 31 Congress MLAs wrote a letter addressed to the party's top leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and his deputy DK Shivakumar, requesting that the first-time MLAs be inducted into the cabinet.
"The people of Karnataka have elected 38 members to legislative assembly from the Indian national congress for the first time and thereby sent out a clear message that they want to see new young faces in the Legislature and that also is the aspiration of the people of Karnataka. That being the case, it is justified that the first time M.L.A s are also accommodated in the cabinet," the letter signed by 31 MLAs read.
"The mix of young and the experienced, is always a right balance to strive and we are sure that your good self with the visionary leadership, make sure this is done in Karnataka. We therefore request you to ensure that at least five first time MLA s are accommodated as ministers in Karnataka, during the reshuffle," it further read.
Congress leader Mantar Gowda on Monday affirmed that several MLAs from the party have written to the high command, requesting that at least five first-time MLAs be given a chance to be inducted into the Karnataka cabinet.
"Yes, quite a few of us have sent. Some of us (first-time MLAs) should get an opportunity, especially in the district of Kodagu. In our district, at least one of us should get (the opportunity), whoever the high command decides, if and when there is a cabinet reshuffle. I understand that there are seniors. However, it is a request. It is not a hard and fast rule. If there is a consideration, consider one of us also," Gowda, who is the Congress MLA from Madikeri Assembly constituency in Kodagu district, told ANI.