Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Dec 24: A group of disgruntled Congressmen who have neither been made ministers nor chairpersons of corporations and boards, are planning to teach the party leadership a lesson by rocking its boat.

The group is said to be led by Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was unceremoniously axed from the cabinet during the reshuffle. The group wants to go about contacting unhappy MLAs stealthily without much ado. Sources say that the group will try its best to bring together 18 to 20 MLAs to hit back at the Congress by resigning together. The entire operation and decision to resign from the membership   of assembly are planned to be completed in about ten days, it is said. Jarkiholi, who left Gokak for Bengaluru on Sunday, may hold a meeting of his close associates there and give a clear message to Congress leaders, sources added.

Ramesh Jarkiholi

BJP, which is presently claiming that it is not interested in launching Operation Lotus, might show interest if the number of legislators loyal to Jarkiholi increases to around 20.

Jarkiholi, speaking to media persons at Gokak on Sunday, announced that he would be resigning from his assembly membership. He however said that he would reveal details of the people who might follow him at an opportune time. "I know my telephone calls are being tapped. But I am not disheartened by such efforts," he clarified.

At the same time, Congress party, it is said, has already requested the assembly speaker to keep pending resignation letters from disgruntled Congress MLAs if any he might receive. As the speaker cannot be forced to act on resignation letters within a time frame, Congress party wants to bide time to convince the legislators to relent and retract their resignations. The high command is said to have advised the state leadership to set in motion efforts to take into confidence MLAs who want to go with Jarkiholi, other than a few who are identified as Jarkiholi's close confidantes, and convince them that remaining with the party will be in their own interests in the long run.