Bengaluru, Jan 27: Satish Jarkiholi, who resigned as Excise minister on Tuesday, has been upset with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over reportedly being sidelined.
On January 3, he had announced in Bengaluru that he was unhappy with the Excise portfolio. It is said he had no power to do much in the department as the Karnataka Beverages Corporation was vested with the authority to take all the major decisions, including regarding issuance of permits. He had said that the portfolio did not allow him to mingle with the people.
The 51-year-old Satish belongs to an affluent business family in Belagavi. Till recently, he was the director of Satish Sugars company. Siddaramaiah had faced embarrassment recently when Satish had said that sugar factories were charitable organisations. He had said this in the backdrop of farmers’ representatives and the opposition parties demanding the intervention of the government to ensure sugar factories cleared the dues of sugar cane growers.
The minister was also under immense pressure from the chief minister that he should get factories to pay the arrears of last year.
Caste factor
It is said the Siddaramaiah government’s recent decision to include Kadu Golla and Kravi Golla (also known as Yadavas - cowherd community) as a scheduled tribe had also not gone down well with Jarkiholi.
The State Social Welfare department recently sent a proposal in this regard to the Union Ministry of Tribal Welfare. Jarkiholi, who belongs to the Nayaka community under the ST, was against the decision.
Gollas are one of the dominant communities among the backward classes. They are in sizable numbers in the 15 Assembly constituencies reserved for STs in the State. If Gollas become an ST, leaders belonging to this caste will also have to be given tickets to contest elections in these constituencies.
Sources said the government’s decision came as a jolt to Jarkiholi who had considerable influence over many of these reserved constituencies. He was trying to position himself as an alternative Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and dalits) leader to Siddaramaiah in the State. Jarkiholi was one of the leaders who financed the Ahinda movement spearheaded by Siddaramaiah in 2005.
Sources said Jarkiholi was also upset with Siddaramaiah for giving prominence to MLC V S Ugrappa who is also an ST. The chief minister has tasked Ugrappa with the responsibility of defending the government. It is said that Siddaramaiah has shortlisted Ugrappa among probable leaders who could replace G Parameshwara as the State Congress president.
‘Revenue-making’ dept
Once a close follower of Siddaramaiah, Jarkiholi had been unhappy with the Excise portfolio as it was only a revenue-generating department and not service-oriented. He was eyeing the Social Welfare department, which is being held by H Anjaneya, another staunch Siddaramaiah follower. Though the chief minister is learnt to have assured him of changing his portfolio, nothing has been done.
Jarkiholi was so upset with these developments that he did not even turn up to receive Siddaramaiah during his visit to Belagavi on Sunday, despite being the district in-charge minister. Efforts by Siddaramaiah to make peace with him have been in vain. The minister is said to have refused to meet either the chief minister or any of his emissaries.
Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa, a close confidant of Siddaramaiah, is learnt to have made efforts to meet the estranged leader, but he was not given an appointment, sources said.
In the recently held pre-budget review meeting, the chief minister had expressed his displeasure over the not-so-satisfactory financial performance of the Excise department. He had told top officers to meet the target set for the current financial year. Officials feel the target is unrealistic.
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