TUMAKURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Thursday that Excise Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s resignation is not going to affect the stability of the government.
Speaking to reporters at the helipad at Tumkur University campus, Siddaramaiah said he does not know the reason behind Satish Jarkiholi’s resignation and will convince him to withdraw it.
“The resignation will not have any adverse effect on the stability of the government and cannot be likened to the drama that took place during the BJP government’s reign,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said he has not assigned the job of convincing Jarkiholi to the home minister’s advisor Kempaiah.
Reacting to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s statement that appointing Siddaramaiah as the deputy chief minister was a blunder he had committed, the chief minister said, “I would have become the CM when he became the PM... But I was convinced by Ramakrishna Hegade, J H Patel and S R Bommai to become the deputy chief minister.”
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra, MP S P Muddahanume Gowda, MLA Rafeeq Ahmed, MLCs M R Hulinayker and H M Revanna were also present.
Meanwhile, Madhugiri MLA K N Rajanna has expressed his desire for a ministerial berth in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.
Speaking to reporters before the chief minister’s arrival, he said, “I am confident that I will become a minister in the Siddaramaiah regime”.