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BJP leader’s house call sparks buzz about Karnataka Congress leader’s move
Ramalinga Reddy, after having missed out on a berth in the Congress-JD(S) alliance government, had sharply criticised his party’s handling of the Cabinet expansion last week.
A visit by Bharatiya Janata Party leader SR Vishwanath to the residence of senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy’s house on Tuesday sparked speculation that the BJP was trying to woo the leader to switch loyalties.
Reddy, after having missed out on a berth in the Congress-JD(S) alliance government, had sharply criticised his party’s handling of the Cabinet expansion last week.
In expressing his disappointment Reddy had joined ranks with the likes of former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was shunted out of the Cabinet, in expressing displeasure over the party’s handling of the affair.
However, Reddy told HT that Vishwanath’s visit was not about politics but to hand over his son’s wedding invite. “He visited me to hand over the invitation for the wedding of his son,” Reddy said, adding that there was no chance of him quitting the party.
“I have been a Congress MLA for seven straight terms and there is no question of me quitting the party. I will fight for my rights within the party,” Reddy said.
The sulking legislator had also met former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who is the chairperson of the coordination committee of the alliance government.
“I told him that the same yardstick should be used for all the members of the Cabinet and that the party had not handled the issue well,” Reddy said, adding Siddaramaiah had assured him that all the issues would be resolved.
Even as Siddaramaiah was able to address the concerns of one leader, others did not shy away from venting their frustration with the party. BC Patil, Congress MLA from Hirekerur in Haveri district, said injustice had been done to the Lingayat community in the recent Cabinet expansion.
“Of the 16 Lingayat MLAs in the party, only three have been made ministers. I am from a subsect of Lingayats, called Sadhu Lingayat, and no person from this community has been made a minister,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ramesh Jarkiholi skipped a meet with KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary in charge of the state, and headed to his home district of Belagavi. He was dropped from the Cabinet amid allegations that he had not attended Cabinet meetings and had threatened to resign from his MLA post last week. He was replaced by his brother Satish Jarkiholi.
Both Jarkiholi and Venugopal could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
