“I was offered the KPCC president’s post. But I declined it,” senior Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi said in Belagavi on Saturday.
“AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal offered me this position. But I have declined it saying I would not accept such responsibilities for the next five years,” he told presspersons. “However, there is no particular reason behind this.’’ He has expressed his displeasure in the past, about being dropped from the Cabinet. A few days ago, he resigned from the post of AICC secretary in charge of Telangana.
“Being a KPCC president means you have to work for five years, organising the party. You have to tour towns and villages, meet senior and promising leaders and organise the party. I don’t need any position to work for the party organisation. People across the State recognise me as Satish Jarkiholi and not by my position in the party,’’ he said.
“My focus now is providing adequate representation to Mumbai Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka. This region is suffering from inappropriate representation for 35 years now. This discrimination should stop and leaders from these regions should be adequately represented. It should not happen in the future at least,’’ he said. However, the time was not still ripe for a separate north Karnataka state that includes both Mumbai Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka, he clarified. “We should now unite and fight against the injustice to the north Karnataka region. I am committed to fighting for that cause.’’
He also felt that the northern region was suffering due to lack of local leadership. “It seems we will get recognition and adequate representation when we produce leaders of the stature of Mallikarjun Kharge,’’ Mr Jarkiholi said.
``In this election, for example, 40 Congress MLAs have won, but only four have made it to the ministry. We are therefore preparing a list of MLAs who could be appointed to boards and corporations. This will be handed over to Mr. Venugopal. Congress senior leadership should ensure that justice is done,’’ he said.
