Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised the Congress high command for not including a woman in the State Cabinet.“By not giving a single ministerial berth to women, who constitute half of the State’s population, the Congress has proven that its talk of women empowerment is limited to election speeches only,” Bhogesh Solapur, AAP district president told reporters in Vijayapura on Tuesday.“The Cabinet expansion in the State has once again exposed the anti-women, pro-corruption and power-centric politics of the Congress party,” he said.“It is shameful that the Congress, which makes big speeches about women empowerment on platforms, has completely ignored women during the power-sharing process. The government, which claims to provide equal opportunities to women, has given them zero representation in the Cabinet, which is a great injustice to the women community,” he said.“Furthermore, the reinstatement of B. Nagendra, who had resigned from the ministerial post in the wake of the Valmiki Corporation scam, is a clear example of the political patronage being given by the Congress to corruption. Such a decision shows the moral bankruptcy of the government when serious questions have been raised about the misuse of public tax money,” he alleged.“Vijayapura district is historically, culturally and economically important. But the Congress has neglected the district, by not giving it another ministerial post,” Mr. Solapur said.“Vijayapura district is one of the important districts of north. However, it suffers from various problems in fields like agriculture, irrigation, industry, employment, education and infrastructure. “In such a situation, not giving the people of the district an opportunity to be represented in the Cabinet is an injustice done to the people of the district. This is likely to affect the development of the district,” he said.“What is even more serious is that the posts of Speaker and Council chairman are being decided by the party high command, rather than by elections among legislators. This is an insult to the autonomy, dignity and democratic values of the Karnataka Legislative bodies,” he said.“In a democracy, decisions should be made on the basis of discussion and consensus of the people’s representatives. But in the Congress, all decisions are limited to the hands of a few individuals, which is against the very spirit of democracy,” he criticised.“The AAP strongly condemns the Congress culture of ignoring women, rewarding those facing corruption charges, depriving many districts including Vijayapura of fair representation, and making the legislature a puppet of the high command, said Mr. Solapur. Published - August 04, 2026 10:18 pm IST