BENGALURU: In his strongest warning yet to legislators disgruntled over being left out of his council of ministers, CM DK Shivakumar said Tuesday that MLAs threatening to quit the party were free to do so and their resignations would be accepted “within a few minutes”. Party — and not posts — is paramount, he added.The remarks came a day after the induction of 19 ministers triggered resentment among several Congress legislators, with Yashvantharayagouda V Patil resigning as Indi MLA and Belur Gopalakrishna threatening to quit after missing out on cabinet berth.At least five lawmakers have openly expressed disappointment. “Resignations keep happening in politics,” Shivakumar told reporters. “No one can stop those who want to resign. The party is important. If there is a party, everything else follows.”Appealing for patience, the CM cited his own political journey and that of senior Congress functionaries who waited for years before getting ministerial positions.“I, too, could have resigned when I was not made minister during the tenures of Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah. Didn’t Parameshwara and I remain patient? During Veerendra Patil’s tenure, Bangarappa, Kharge and Dharam Singh were not made ministers. Didn’t Bangarappa and Dharam Singh later become CMs? One needs to have patience,” he said.On X, former minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, a six-time MLA who had held organisational positions from Youth Congress to AICC for decades, said it was disappointing that he was not considered for induction into the ministry without assigning any reason. The former KPCC chief, son of ex-chief minister R Gundu Rao, said he would continue to work for the people and Karnataka.“That may be DK Shivakumar’s style of functioning, but seniors should patiently listen to the grievances of legislators instead of saying their resignations would be accepted immediately. We are not demanding changes in cabinet; we want the leadership to address our concerns ,” former minister MC Sudhakar said.
