Bengaluru, Sep 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday extended the party's support to Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi amid the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids linked to him, while also taking responsibility for the absence of a woman minister in the Karnataka Cabinet.
Addressing the media at the state unit office here, Surjewala alleged that central investigating agencies were being used against Congress leaders, particularly those belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
"Minister for PWD Satish Jarkiholi has been targeted twice. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was targeted. The ED also conducted raids against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Raids were conducted against Congress MLA Na.Ra. Bharat Reddy, former minister B. Nagendra, Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara and MLA Veerendra Pappi," he noted.
"There is a big list of Congress leaders who were raided by the ED. The reason behind these raids is that all these leaders hail from SC and ST communities. We will not bow down for any reason before the Central government. We are all with Minister Satish Jarkiholi," he said.
Surjewala also questioned the status of cases involving BJP and JD-S leaders, naming Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, former minister Janardhana Reddy and Renukacharya.
"Don't they have prosecution pending against them? Already the ED stands exposed," he said.
Alleging political misuse of central investigating agencies, Surjewala said: "The ED has been working as the election wing of the party. Whenever elections come near, ED, CBI, and IT come into the picture. Afterwards, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrive in the state."
On the absence of a woman minister in the Karnataka Cabinet, Surjewala said the responsibility was his and not that of the Congress high command in Delhi.
"In the Cabinet, there is no woman minister. The mistake is mine. It is not the mistake of the high command sitting in Delhi. It is my mistake. I have not been able to finalise one candidate in this regard," he said.
Surjewala said there were multiple aspirants for the post, making it difficult to arrive at a decision.
"There were more than one aspirant. In this background, it was not possible. We will decide on giving a Cabinet berth to a woman soon. We are very serious regarding women's empowerment," he said.
He said the delay was due to political considerations and assured that the issue would be resolved after consultations with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and state unit President B.K. Hariprasad.
"This is not Delhi's fault. It is the fault of the AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge, who could not take a decision on account of certain political exigencies. We have more than one deserving candidate, and we will sort this out soon, after consulting with our Chief Minister and PCC chief, who are very concerned about the matter. They hound me every day on the matter," Surjewala said.
Taking a dig at those criticising the Congress over the lack of women in the Cabinet, Surjewala referred to Kumaraswamy's tenure in the BJP-JD-S coalition government.
"I want to remind those who are making noises that they themselves were Women and Child Welfare Minister for the full term during their tenure. That was Mr Kumaraswamy in the BJP and JD-S coalition government," he said.
Meanwhile, Congress MLC Gayathri Shantegowda met Chief Minister Shivakumar at his residence in Bengaluru and held discussions. Her name had initially figured in the list of ministers announced by the Congress during the Cabinet expansion, but she did not take the oath along with the other ministers.
The Cabinet berth earmarked for a woman has remained vacant, with the Congress leadership yet to finalise the candidate. Surjewala's statement came amid renewed discussions within the party over women's representation in the Karnataka Cabinet.
Source: IANS
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