BALLARI : The newly elected Ballari MP and sitting Sandur MLA, E Tukaram, rubbished reports of him resigning as an MP and said that he would follow the directives of the Congress high command and work for the development of his constituency.
Calling the news of him resigning as MP as mere rumours, Tukaram reiterated that he would continue to remain an MP. Tukaram defeated the BJP’s B Sriramulu by a margin of 98,992 votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections. After former minister and Ballari district in-charge Minister B Nagendra resigned from his ministerial post following the ST Corporation row, there were murmurs in the political corridors of Tukaram resigning as an MP and getting inducted into the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.
“I respect the sentiments of my supporters. But it is not true that I am resigning as an MP and continuing as an MLA with the intention of securing a ministerial post in the State Cabinet. The voters of undivided Ballari have elected me as their MP, and I honour their mandate,” he said. “As an MP, I will raise my voice in the Lok Sabha to make Ballari the jeans capital of the country... former AICC president Rahul Gandhi had promised this. My priority is development,” he added.