BENGALURU: Uttara Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde is the surprise pick for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet expansion scheduled today. BJP sources from Karnataka confirmed on Saturday that Hegde is the man picked among nine new faces for Modi’s cabinet reshuffle.
Hegde, who was born in Sirsi in 1968, became MP for the first time in 1996 at the age of 28. During his multiple stints in Parliament, he has been a member of various standing committees. Founder President of Kadamba, a national level NGO working in the field of rural development, rural health, formation of self-help groups, rural marketing and other rural welfare programmes, Hegde is also vice president of state BJP.
Hegde is also known as a controversial politician. In January this year, he was caught on camera assaulting hospital staff in Karwar. A suo motu case was registered against him in Sirsi for linking Islam to terrorism . He was booked in a case under section 295 (A) of IPC (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class, by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) .