Bengaluru: As Karnataka fights the Covid-19 crisis, the state government is also battling another major problem — a power struggle between the ministers of health and medical education.
Health Minister B. Sriramulu and Medical Education Minister D.K. Sudhakar have not been on talking terms, and seem to be constantly trying to put one over the other. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa put both of them on a task force with deputy CM C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar on 18 March, but Sriramulu and Sudhakar have hardly met as part of the task force.
Their clash also results in a mismatch between their media conferences — invariably, their updates on Covid-19 differ in terms of numbers.
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Root of the differences
Technically, the Covid-19 crisis falls within the ambit of Sriramulu’s health ministry. But Sudhakar, a doctor who rebelled against the Congress and joined the BJP government late last year, began overshadowing Sriramulu because he possibly understood the situation better, given his medical experience.
Their paths started crossing again when the media and the public sought updates on Covid-19, and their differences of opinion and numbers seemed to add to the bitterness.
“While the health minister should have been at the helm of affairs, Sudhakar took over as he had better knowledge about the subject, as he is a practising doctor. His oratory skills are better, giving him an added advantage,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
“The tussle between the two is also because Sriramulu is an old BJP hand, while Sudhakar is a rebel leader who crossed over. Sudhakar has been given a plum post to save the government with the promise of continued support.”
Sriramulu’s daughter’s wedding
Before the Covid-19 threat increased, Sriramulu was also busy with the nine-day-long wedding celebrations of his daughter between 27 February and 5 March. In the meantime, Sudhakar was seen at the helm, monitoring the state’s progress in handling the disease as well as briefing the media on a daily basis.
By the time Covid-19 cases in Karnataka hit double figures, Sudhakar had positioned himself as the man handling the crisis, and even told the media that a single person should be in charge of it. A hurt Sriramulu began withdrawing himself, and stopped attending meetings of the task force.
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Sriramulu offered to resign
A source within the government said that after Sudhakar was made the head of the Covid-19 team, a very upset Sriramulu drove to the CM’s residence with his resignation letter to ask why he was being sidelined.
“The minister is hurt, but that has not stopped him from taking decisions or closely monitoring the developments. He is the state health minister after all. It was the way it was done that hurt the minister more,” said a close associate of Sriramulu.
“It looked as if the CM was trying to keep Sudhakar happy as his support to his government was crucial. It also made Sriramulu look bad in the eyes of the people who voted for him.”
A worried CM Yediyurappa issued an order dividing up powers — he made Sriramulu head of the task force, enlisting him to tour the state, while asking Sudhakar to handle all Covid-19-related issues from the seat of the government in Bengaluru.
The CM also denied that there had been a lack of coordination, insisting that his government was working on a war footing to ensure it flattens the coronavirus curve.
“There is and will be no clash between the two,” he said.
Causing confusion
But things didn’t stop there. The two ministers have gone on to share very different information with the public and the media, often adding to the confusion.
On 25 March, media reports started pouring in based on confirmation from Sriramulu that a Covid-19-infected person from Gouribidanur in Chikkaballapur had died. Sriramulu tweeted the information at 11.37 am.
ಇವರು ಗೌರಿಬಿದನೂರಿನ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಗಾಗಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಎದೆ ರೋಗಗಳ ಕೇಂದ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ದಾಖಲಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ಬೌರಿಂಗ್ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ವರ್ಗಾಯಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು.
— B Sriramulu (@sriramulubjp) March 25, 2020
When several media houses contacted Sudhakar, he maintained that the test results were yet to arrive. He only confirmed the death — the second in Karnataka — in a tweet the next day at 12.24 pm.
I regret to inform that the COVID-19 test result has come out as positive for Mallika Bai, who had succumbed to death yesterday. The govt stands committed to curb the spread of Corona Virus in the state. Please stay home, stay safe ????
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) March 26, 2020
Sriramulu told the media on Thursday, 1 April, that Karnataka has 121 positive cases, 11 of which have been found in Bidar. His own department, which is working with team headed by Sudhakar, has reported 110 cases.
The previous day, Sriramulu told reporters in Bagalkote that 342 people had returned to Karnataka from the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, of which 200 were traced and identified.
ದೆಹಲಿಯ ಬಾಂಗ್ಲಾವಲಿಯ ನಿಜಾಮುದ್ದೀನ್ ಜಮಾತ್ ಮಸೀದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಮೂಲದ 342 ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ, ಈಗ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಂದ 4 ಹಾಗೂ ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಿಂದ 5 ಜನರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿ ಒಟ್ಟು 200 ಜನರನ್ನು Quarantine ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಉಳಿದವರನ್ನು ಶೀಘ್ರವೇ ಗುರುತಿಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಡೆದಿದೆ
— B Sriramulu (@sriramulubjp) April 1, 2020
However, the additional chief secretary of the health and family welfare department, Jawaid Akhtar, told the media that that 1,500 persons from Karnataka had been part of the congregation, and the government had screened 800, and tested 143 with swabs.
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