R. V. Deshpande: Time to bow out gracefully
R. V. Deshpande has been a permanent fixture in Karnataka politics for more than four decades. Elected repeatedly from Uttara Kannada, he has enjoyed the rare privilege of being a minister in almost every government since 1983, regardless of who occupied the Chief Minister’s chair. Few politicians in the state have known the corridors of power as intimately or for as long as he has. Yet today, at 78, he finds himself restless and disappointed. For months now, Deshpande has voiced his unhappiness over not being included in the present Siddaramaiah Cabinet. His repeated assertions about seniority and experience betray a sense of entitlement—that being a minister is his natural right as long as the Congress is in power. But perhaps it is time for Deshpande to pause and reflect. After all, he has not been cast aside. He continues to hold the post of Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission, a position of prestige and influence, where his decades of administrative experience ...