Karnataka to get woman minister in 2-3 days, says CM Shivakumar

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said a woman minister will be inducted into his Cabinet in the next couple of days. The announcement comes amid criticism from the BJP over the lack of female representation in the recently expanded Cabinet, which has 33 ministers but no woman. Shivakumar, speaking at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable, said the Congress party is committed to women's empowerment and that a name was cleared earlier but faced an issue.

The expansion on August 3 originally included first-time MLC Gayathri Shantigowda as the sole woman minister, but she did not take oath at the last minute. The Indian Express reported that former CM Siddaramaiah backed his former colleague Umashree for the post, leading to a controversy. Shivakumar did not name the likely appointee. He also defended minister B Nagendra, saying an official report cleared him of involvement in the Valmiki Corporation scam, and noted that 95 per cent of the Rs 89 crore involved has been recovered.

On the Cauvery water issue, Shivakumar said he would honour the Supreme Court's direction on releasing water to Tamil Nadu. He accused the BJP-led Centre of not releasing funds for the Upper Bhadra project despite a budget announcement of Rs 5,400 crore. He also outlined plans for 150 km of flyovers and 47 km of tunnels in Bengaluru to address traffic issues.