I'm firm, it's goodbye Congress: Ramesh Jarkiholi

Bengaluru: Reiterating his decision to quit the Congress party, Belagavi strongman Ramesh Jarkiholi who was dropped from the H.D. Kumaraswamy ministry, on Monday said that he was committed to  his decision (to quit the party).

On Sunday he had told the media in Belagavi that he would resign in four or five days.  Mr Jarkiholi is severely upset with the party’s decision to drop him from the cabinet and blamed the media for this development. “You created a villain out of me and described the villain as a hero. You (media) did irreparable damage to me and my career. People will not forgive you,” Mr Jarkiholi told reporters outside his official residence here. In his place, his brother Satish Jarkiholi was inducted into the cabinet during the rejig on Saturday.

While leaving the residence in his private car, Mr Jarkiholi refused to share more details on whether other disgruntled Congress legislators would resign from the party along with him. “Why should I share any information with you?” he shot back.

A 14-second long video clip in which Mr Ramesh Jarkiholi can be heard telling his supporters that he along with a few others would resign from the party, has already gone viral creating a political storm. In the video, he however does not reveal the number of MLAs who would resign.

Sources in the Congress camp quoting his close supporters, said the former minister despite his public posturing , does not feel resigning from his MLA post, would help him in his career. “A cabinet berth has come back to our family (Satish Jarkiholi). How will I benefit if I resign from the party now,” he reportedly told his loyalists hinting that people may not accept his decision to quit the Congress when his brother Satish Jarkiholi has been rewarded with a ministerial berth ensuring justice for the family.