Berths for sulking KSE, Jarkiholi in Jan?

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Former ministers KS Eshwarappa and Ramesh Jarkiholi who had to resign from the Bommai ministry following scam allegations, could be reinducted with the BJP high comand intervening after Eshwarappa decided to go public to voice his grievances over not being given a berth despite obtaining a clean chit in the corruption case against him.

Eshwarappa had faced charges of being responsible for the suicide of a Hubballi contractor, Santosh Patll, who had claimed that he was not being paid his dues as he could not pay he astronomical commission demanded by those in government and had resigned from the cabinet in the wake of these allegations.

Jarkiholi on the other hand, had to quit after a sex CD episode involving him and a women went viral but later received a clean chit from the investigating agencies. At the time of putting in his papers, Bommai had promised to take reinduct Eshwarappa in the cabinet once he was absolved of all charges.

In the last six to eight months, Bommai would have visited Delhi no less than a dozen times seeking permission from the high command to expand his ministry but the green signal has not come yet. A miffed Eshwarappa had kept away from the legislature session held in Bengaluru earlier citing knee pain and has also been skipping the ongoing Belagavi session.

On Tuesday when the CM came to know about Eshwarappa's plans to go public on his grievances against the government, he immediately alerted BJP National President J.P.Nadda and BJP General Secretary & In-Charge of Karnataka Affairs Arun Singh and requested them to convince Eshwarappa not to air his grievances as it would provide ammunition to the Congress Party to attack the BJP.

After the BJP top brass intervened, Bommai has promised that the duo would be re-inducted into the Cabinet as early as possible as the high command had 'taken note' of their case. It is not however sure when the expansion will happen with just five months left for the Assembly polls.