Belagavi: After skipping the lavish wedding of SSI Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi's son on Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made a flying visit to the Jarkiholis in Gokak to bless the newly-weds on Tuesday. The CM had reasons to avoid the wedding function as Ballari mine baron Janardhan Reddy was under fire from the Congress for squandering hundreds of crores on his daughter's wedding in Bengaluru a few days ago.
The CM flew to Gokak in a private chopper from Suvarna Soudha's helipad and landed in Gokak accompanied by cabinet colleagues, K.J. George, Dr G. Parameshwar and Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattan. He blessed the couple at the residence of Lakhan Jarkiholi, youngest of the Jarkiholi brothers and had some snacks before flying back to Belagavi before the start of the House proceedings. Only Ramesh Jarkiholi and his youngest brother Lakhan Jarkiholi were present to receive the CM at Lakhan Jarkiholi's residence. The other three brothers including former ministers Satish and Balachandra stayed away.
The CM was diplomatic while responding to questions on why he did not attend the wedding. He said, he could not make it as Monday was the first day of the session and farmers were supposed to hold protests.
