Kumarswamy’s latest remark is in contrast to his earlier statement in which the Karnataka chief minister had said that he was at the mercy of the Congress as the people of the state had not given a clear mandate to his party in the Assembly elections.
However, Kumaraswamy asserted that he would not remain silent during the period that he has got and would focus on taking decisions for the benefit of the state.
JD(S) sources said G T Deve Gowda, who has been allotted Higher Education, and C S Puttaraju, who got Minor Irrigation in the portfolio allocation on Friday, are unhappy about their ministries.
Governor Vajubhai R. Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at Raj Bhavan.
Following days of deliberations between the Congress and JD(S), Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy finally held his cabinet expansion today.
Sources said while the JD(S) will have nine new ministers, the Congress will have nearly 12 of its legislators inducted into the cabinet.
Kumaraswamy has also asked authorities to review proposals submitted by various government departments, offices and agencies to buy new cars.
The contentious issue of portfolio allocation has also been resolved and it has been decided that the lucrative finance department will be run by the JD(S) while the Congress will manage the Home Department
Patra also claimed that various opposition parties were not accepting Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the leader of an anti-BJP coalition.
Kumaraswamy reportedly told Congress leaders that it has been the convention in coalition government in Karnataka to allow the junior partner to keep the finance portfolio.
Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda took to twitter asking Kumaraswamy if he would compromise the interests of Kannadigas just to retain power.
This will be Kumaraswamy's first meeting with PM Modi after becoming Chief Minister of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition government on May 23.
He also said that the expansion of his Cabinet would take place once the state Congress leaders get an approval from their high command.
The Kumaraswamy government won the confidence motion with a voice note in the new Assembly after opposition BJP members led by former CM BS Yeddyurappa walked out of the House minutes ahead of the floor test.
While the Congress has 78 MLAs, Kumaraswamy's JD(S) has 36, and BSP 1. The alliance has also claimed support of the lone KPJP MLA and an independent. Kumaraswamy had won from two constituencies. The BJP has 104 MLAs.
The 58-year-old Kumaraswamy, who was sworn in at a grand assembly of leaders of non-BJP parties yesterday, looks sitting pretty given the strength of the JD(S)-Congress-BSP coalition in the House.
Mamata Banerjee purportedly lost her cool after she was made to walk a few meters to reach the Vidhan Soudha to attend HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony.
Cloistered at a luxurious resort and hotel for the last nine days since political turmoil hit the state, the lawmakers are cooling their heels away from their families and eagerly waiting for their ordeal to end.
This will be Kumarawamy's second term as the chief minister of Karnataka since 2007, when he last held the post for 20 months.
The oath-taking ceremony turned out to be a springboard for Opposition unity, which aims at dislodging the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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