Karnataka/Nagpur: Smarting over his removal as a minister, Kannada mega-star MH Ambareesh offered this message to his party, the Congress, today: “I am not a chappal (Slipper) that can be worn and then thrown away,” he told media.
Ambareesh, 63, was dropped along with 13 other ministers in a reshuffle by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday.
He had reportedly been assessed as a poor performer in his three years in his role as Housing Minister.
“I have my own popularity,” the actor-turned-politician asserted. He said his biggest complaint is that his boss, the Chief Minister, did not warn him about his removal. “I would have given up (the post) for a younger leader,” he claimed.
Ambareesh says he has quit as state legislator, but rules need him to deliver a resignation letter in person to the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly.
A major film industry association has stopped production of movies in a show of support for the actor. The revamp of the cabinet has caused major angst within the Congress, which is dealing with mutiny in most of the six/seven states it governs.
