Ramesh Jarkiholi says his only goal is ensuring development

If Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar had not opposed me, I would not have grown to such levels, says newly inducted Minister

Ramesh Jarkiholi’s followers felicitating him in Gokak.

“I was upset that my follower Mahesh Kumthalli was not made a Minister,” newly inducted member of the State Cabinet and Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi said in Gokak on Sunday.

He was speaking at a felicitation function hosted by his followers in his native town. “I was in no mood to take oath as a Minister as I felt unhappy that my follower Mr. Kumthalli was not inducted,” he said.

He clarified that he took oath only because Mr. Kumthalli and his brother and BJP MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi forced him to.

He said that he was not particular about the portfolio. “I might get irrigation or library Ministry (he has since been given Water Resources). The choice of portfolio will not bother me. I will accept any Ministry and serve the State happily. I trust Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I will continue to trust them and work with them,” he said. He said that he would never quit the BJP and would work for the strengthening the party instead.

He said that his only goal was development and that he would not respond to people who were alleging that he joined the BJP for power and money. “What my brother Satish Jarkiholi has done in 20 years, I have achieved in 2-3 years, as Minister and MLA,” he said. He reiterated that the five brothers were united when it came to family matters, but not in politics. “When it comes to politics, we are all different and we work for our parties,” he said.

“I have suffered a lot in the last few months. Even my worst enemies should not suffer such fate. I have made some mistakes in the past. I will not repeat them,” he said.

He said that he had made a mistake regarding the election of BJP candidate Sanjay Patil in 2018. He meant that he had worked for the victory of his protégé and Congress candidate Lakshmi Hebbalkar. “This will not happen again. I will make sure that Mr. Patil wins,” he said. Those in public life should not be arrogant about their power. They should be logical in their thinking and sympathetic in their actions towards others, he said.

In a sarcastic comment, he said that he was thankful to Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar as it was due to him that he had become a Minister. “If he had not opposed me, I would not have grown to such levels,” he said.

Mr. Kumthalli said: “We had told the Congress leaders that Gokak was a ball of fire and that they should not play with it. They refused to listen to us and that led to the fall of the Congress-Janata Dal(S) coalition government,” he said. He credited Mr. Jarkiholi for the return of Mr. Yediyurappa as Chief Minister.

Earlier, his supporters welcomed Mr. Jarkiholi with a garland made of apples that weighed over five quintals.