Bengaluru: The absence of a woman minister in Karnataka’s Congress govt has come under renewed scrutiny with Soumya Reddy, the Mahila Congress president of the party’s state unit, quitting her post over the issue.
Soumya, daughter of forest minister Ramalinga Reddy, had submitted her resignation to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Aug 20, but it became public only on Friday.
She said she had agreed to serve for two years and would continue until her successor was appointed.
A former MLA, she said she would continue to work for the Congress as an ordinary party worker during the next assembly and Lok Sabha elections. “There is not a single woman minister in the Karnataka govt. I have been bringing this to the attention of party functionaries, but in vain,” she wrote. Her exit comes at a time when the leadership is considering filling the two vacant ministerial berths in chief minister DK Shivakumar ’s cabinet. Several names are being discussed, including that of Laxmi Hebbalkar, who held the women and child development portfolio in the previous Siddaramaiah cabinet. The lack of a woman in the cabinet has been a concern within the Congress rank and file and is likely to figure in discussions between the state unit and the high command on cabinet expansion in the days ahead.
In her letter, Soumya said she had discharged her responsibilities and wanted to make way for new leaders. She praised the Congress govt’s five guarantee schemes, saying her visits across Karnataka had allowed her to witness their positive impact first-hand.