Satish Jarkiholi rubbishes ‘coup’ in Congress

Bengaluru: Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday rubbished reports of a coup within the Congress, while reaffirming his loyalty to the party.

Political circles have been abuzz with rumours of potential changes in the Congress following Satish’s recent meeting with Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda in New Delhi.

Pointing out that the Congress had a comfortable majority in the Assembly, Satish said, “Our train is already full; in fact, it’s overloaded. What will we do with 18 more MLAs (of the JD(S))?”

Making it clear that his future lay with the Congress, the minister added, “If I am to become the chief minister or the KPCC president, it would be in the Congress. I am on the waiting list, and I will wait here. If someone ahead of me gets stuck in the traffic, I may get a chance.”

About the possibility of Congress leaders turning into the Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar of Karnataka, Satish said, “Nobody is Shinde or Ajit Pawar here. Nobody has that capacity in Karnataka.”

The Public Works minister said that honey trapping controversy and allegations made by Rajendra Rajanna about a murder attempt were entirely different issues. “I have not met Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna after the Budget Session. I will ask him why he remained silent on this issue,” said Satish.