Shivakumar trying to persuade BJP leader Sriramulu to join Congress: MLA Janardhana Reddy

Bengaluru, Jan 23 (IANS) BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy said on Thursday that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is trying to persuade BJP's prominent leader B. Sriramulu to join the Congress party in an attempt to counter Minister for PWD Satish Jarkiholi. 

Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Bengaluru, Reddy said that Sriramulu's dissatisfaction with BJP leaders is becoming evident.

Sources claim that Minister Satish Jarkiholi is a close confidant of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and that the Jarkiholi brothers are accused of running a political stronghold in the Belagavi region. Satish Jarkiholi has openly challenged Shivakumar within the party.

Shivakumar is reportedly the mentor of Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar, who has been challenging the dominance of Satish Jarkiholi and his brothers in Belagavi, according to sources.

Reddy further alleged that Shivakumar, in a bid to contain Satish Jarkiholi, is in talks with Sriramulu. "If Sriramulu wants to quit the BJP, he can make that decision. His consideration of leaving the party is not new; he had left the BJP earlier to start his own BSR party. I had advised him against quitting the BJP at the time," Reddy said.

"I had asked Sriramulu to stay in the BJP as there was a chance of the CBI arresting me. He did not listen to me then. Now, if he wants to listen to someone else and leave the BJP, let him go ahead," Reddy added.

He added that however, Sriramulu should not drag my name into this. In the Ballari region, there is talk of Sriramulu leaving the BJP.

 In response, former Minister Sriramulu, speaking to the media in Ballari city on Thursday, dismissed the allegations made by his former ally turned rival Reddy. He clarified that he has no plans to quit the BJP.

 "I won’t quit the party. When I offered to resign due to humiliation at the recently held core committee meeting, people asked if I was planning to leave the BJP. I said I would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I made it clear that I will not betray the trust of Modi and Amit Shah," Sriramulu stated.

"Who am I to counter Minister Satish Jarkiholi? Leaders from the Valmiki community are already present in the Congress party. Even after my electoral defeat, I remain influential in the BJP. The claim that Deputy Shivakumar is trying to use me to counter Satish Jarkiholi is false," he clarified.

"When a powerful person portrays a lie as the truth, it may be perceived as the truth. In such situations, the truth is often overshadowed by lies," Sriramulu said.

"More than anything, self-respect is important. Against this backdrop, I considered resigning from the party. I am the one who built the BJP in the Ballari region for six years when Reddy was in jail. I have been elected MLA six times. Reddy has only won the MLA election once. I also won a Lok Sabha election. When Reddy was released from prison, I welcomed him to Ballari by gathering 25,000 people in 2018," Sriramulu pointed out.

"Reddy is upset because I didn’t welcome him this time," he added.

Sriramulu further said, "He is trying to portray me as a criminal. I don’t have a single criminal case against me. He talks as if he has a clean record. I have all the documents against him and will expose him at the right time," he stated, without directly naming Reddy.

The infighting within the Karnataka BJP has come to the forefront, with former minister B. Sriramulu accusing MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy of attempting to undermine his political career on Wednesday. 

Sriramulu, a prominent leader representing the oppressed classes, has expressed his willingness to resign from the party in response to these tensions.

Sriramulu had claimed that BJP Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Agarwal had humiliated him during a recent state core committee meeting. According to Sriramulu, Agarwal blamed him for the party's defeat in the by-election for the Sandur Assembly constituency.

“Agarwal alleged that I did not work for BJP candidate Bangaru Hanumantha, leading to the party’s loss,” Sriramulu said.