Jarkiholi says he's not happy with Excise portfolio

Excise Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday expressed unhappiness over the portfolio given to him on the grounds that it did not suit his mindset.

Expressing his displeasure while interacting with the media, Jarkiholi said that from Day One, he was not happy with the portfolio and wanted a change. Jarkiholi said that for his temperament, Excise was not the right portfolio.

“Back then, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured me that he will change my portfolio in the next Cabinet reshuffle or portfolio change. I have again appealed to the chief minister to change my portfolio. I do not care what portfolio is given to me, except for the fact that it needs to have direct interaction with people. Excise department portfolio seldom has any direct interaction with people,” he said.

People-oriented

Jarkiholi said that the Excise portfolio may be enticing for many leaders, but he wanted more of a people-oriented portfolio from the beginning.

The minister said that there had been a revision in the target for Excise revenue as per the orders of the Finance department.

While the Excise revenue target was placed at Rs 14,700 crore for the financial year of 2014-15, it was revised to Rs 13,700 crore as per an order of the Finance department.
Jarkiholi said that, as on December 31, the department had accrued Rs 10,000 crore and was confident about the remaining Rs 3,700 crore being earned by the end of March.

He said that the department was trying to rescind on the budget proposal of applying five per cent VAT on liquor served in clubs and bars. On whether there was any proposal to open new bars and liquor shops, Jarkiholi replied in the negative.