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NEW DELHI: Facing criticism over the absence of women in his newly constituted Cabinet, Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday assured that more ministers would be inducted and that women would get representation in the government in due course.Shivakumar took oath as chief minister on Wednesday along with 13 ministers. With the Karnataka council of ministers permitted to have a maximum strength of 34 members, including the chief minister, several berths remain vacant.Responding to criticism from the BJP regarding the lack of women ministers, Shivakumar said, “Let them (BJP) wait; there are a lot of vacancies. Last time, too, there were no women in the first round. We are all there,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Emphasising his party’s record on women’s welfare, he added, “We have set a model in the country.”The issue has drawn criticism not only from the opposition but also from within the Congress. Leader of the opposition R Ashoka questioned the government’s decision to leave women out of the first round of cabinet expansion.Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva also voiced concern over the composition of the ministry. In a post on X, she said, “Congratulations to DK Shivakumar on being sworn in as Karnataka CM. I wish him and his team success. I would have loved to see at least one Congress woman in the new Karnataka Cabinet sworn in today. Deeply disappointed that there isn’t one.”Of the 13 ministers sworn in, 11 had served in the previous Siddaramaiah-led government. MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, son of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, and U T Khader, who recently stepped down as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, were the only new entrants to the cabinet.Senior Dalit leader G Parameshwara was appointed deputy chief minister.Despite expectations of broader representation, no woman legislator found a place in the first phase of cabinet formation. In the previous Siddaramaiah government, Lakshmi Hebbalkar was the sole woman minister.
