Kannada organisations demand resignation of two Jarkiholi brothers, MLA Feroz Sait
The differences between the Small Scale Industries Minister and district in-charge Ramesh L. Jarkiholi and his brother Satish, MLA, that eventually cost the long-standing unity of the Kannada-Urdu group of councillors in the Belagavi City Corporation council, has drawn the ire of Kannada organisations.
The Belagavi District Kannada Organisations Action Committee has demanded the resignation of not only the two Jarkiholi brothers but also of the second time Congress MLA from Belagavi North Feroz N. Sait who is a close associate of Mr. Satish. However, the Committee was not forthcoming when asked if it also wanted the resignation of Suresh C. Angadi, MP (BJP), who did not attend the crucial election meeting and Prakash B. Hukkeri, MP (Congress), who did not cast his vote ever after attending the meeting.
The split surfaced when two candidates each from the groups identified with Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Satish unsuccessfully contested in the mayoral elections on Wednesday.
“This never happened in the history of BCC mayoral elections ever since the erstwhile municipality was upgraded into a municipal corporation in 1984. It is unfortunate that personal differences between two brothers had taken its toll on the long standing unity of our Kannada-Urdu group in the council,” said former mayor and veteran Kannada leader Siddangouda Patil at a press conference here on Thursday.
Committee’s senior leader Raghavendra Joshi and president Ashok Chandargi and other office-bearers pointed out that their dialogue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and in-charge of boundary issues H.K. Patil, the two Jarkiholi brothers and Mr. Sait for the past several months were in vain. Efforts to fix a meeting with Jarkiholi brothers and Mr. Sait during the days preceding the mayoral elections were also futile, the Committee leaders said.
