Berth pangs: Not resigning, says Hariprasad

Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad asserted on Saturday that he is not going to quit the party as he was not inducted into the cabinet.

Hariprasad was responding to rumours about him being miffed for not being named as a minister and that he was going to quit.

"I am in my house. I have not come to a rented house to quit and go. There is no question of me resigning," he said.

However, he made cryptic remarks about "political reasons" for him missing the ministerial bus.

"There is a difference between my idea of social justice and Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits). What I believe is in equal opportunity for all, immaterial of whether they are big or small," he remarked.

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Hariprasad added that there are several dynamics within the party. He said he will talk about it when the time is ripe.

As for a question concerning a power-sharing agreement between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Hariprasad said only the top AICC leaders, apart from Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar themselves, have ideas about it.

"No matter what anyone else says is not authentic on this matter," he said.

However, when asked whether the current ministers would continue for five years, Hariprasad said it is possible.

It is also true that the Congress increased its vote share with the Vokkaligas leaving JD(S) and voting for Congress in the hope of Shivakumar becoming the chief minister. There is no big mystery in this, he added.