TUMAKURU/ BAGALKOT/VIJAYAPURA: With trouble brewing in Congress after the exclusion of Ramesh Jarkiholi and Ramalinga Reddy from the cabinet expansion, both the Chief Minister as well as the Deputy Chief Minister are now on a damage control mode.
Speaking in Tumakuru on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said he will speak to former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi and persuade him not to take any drastic decision. Word is doing rounds that Ramesh has decided to quit as an MLA.
Parameshwara rubbished the news of Ramesh quitting the party and dubbed it as a media creation.
“Neither KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao nor I were responsible for Ramalinga Reddy missing the cabinet berth. The allotment of the home portfolio to M B Patil, too, was not discussed as the party high command’s decision is the ultimate. After any cabinet expansion, some leaders get upset. But this has been blown out of proportion by the media,” he said.
To another query about senior Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge being upset about the cabinet expansion, Parameshwara said he will speak with Kharge as well.Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too reacted to the developments and said, “Former ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Ramesh Jarkiholi are my close friends. I will personally speak with them to address their issues in order to keep the coalition government stable for five years. It is common that during cabinet expansion, a few leaders express their unhappiness and we will solve these issues at the earliest.”
Jarkiholi is a good boy with a big heart: DKS
Bengaluru: Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday termed former minister and Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi “a good boy with a big heart”. Reacting to Jarkiholi’s threat of resigning from the assembly membership as he was dropped from the cabinet, Shivakumar, in a tone laced with sarcasm said, “He is a good boy with a big heart. I will talk to him.” Jarkiholi and Shivakumar do not have good equations. Jarkiholi had even complained to the party leaders about Shivakumar’s interference in Belagavi politics. Shivakumar said leaders must be willing to make some sacrifice for the party.