Newsmaker: Karnataka Deputy CM G Parameshwara is finally rewarded, almost

After Kharge, Parameshwara, is the tallest Dalit leader of the Congress in the state

As he stood in front of the majestic Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru a little after 4.30pm on May 23 to take oath as deputy chief minister of Karnataka, it was a moment of vindication for Congress leader G Parameshwara.

After Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha, 66-year-old Parameshwara is his party’s tallest Dalit leader in Karnataka.

In 2013, as the Congress prepared to fight the Assembly elections that it was certain to win because of splits in the Bharatiya Janata Party, the soft-spoken and articulate Parameshwara was considered the frontrunner for the chief minister's post.