'No question of Yatnal joining us, his ideology does not suit Congress': Satish Jarkiholi

Belagavi: Public Works Department and District in-charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday said rubbished the reports of expelled BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal joining Congress and said that the question of does not arise at all.

Adding that the ideology of BJP and Yatnal were the same and it does not match with the Congress, Jarkiholi said the former union minister could be back in the saffron party in about a year or less than that.

Jarkiholi told reporters here on Tuesday that Yatnal may have met some of the Congress leaders after being expelled from BJP, but this does not mean that he is joining the party. Earlier too Yatnal had quit BJP and returned to its fold. Congress ideology does not suit Yatnal.

Jarkiholi further said that during his visit to New Delhi, he had held meetings with Union Surface Transport Minister and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pralhad Joshi, but there were speculations about his meeting with Union Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

"I met Kumaraswamy to request him to sanction industries in Belagavi district, which would provide employment to the youth. We want Belagavi to develop on par with Bengaluru. Politics was not discussed during this meeting with Kumaraswamy and meeting Deve Gowda was coincidental," the minister added.

He also said that his meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge was not to discuss about changing the KPCC president. "It is for the high command to take a call on the issue," Jarkiholi stated.

On the question of BJP announcing protest against the rise in prices of milk and increase in other taxes in the state, he said, "Prices of milk have been hiked after getting proposal from Karnataka Milk Federation and it's not done for the first time. During the tenure of different governments, taxes were hiked and milk prices had also seen hike. Protests by BJP were unwanted. If the same parameters were applied, there should be protest against the hike of toll by National Highway Authority of India."