Daijiworld Media Network - Belagavi (SP)

Belagavi, Jul 27: Reiterating his earlier statement, former minister and MLA, Satish Jarkiholi, asserted that a 'thing' caused the downfall of the coalition government, and not his family. Satish, when repeating his past statement, did not elaborate what that 'thing' he referred to was.

Speaking to media persons, he said that many blame his family for the collapse of the government but said that this allegation is unfounded. "I will speak about the 'thing' that engineered the collapse of the coalition government at an opportune time. If such an opportunity does not arise, this secret will be buried in the annals of history, he explained.

He said that the rebel MLAs camping at Mumbai since the last three weeks have already distributed portfolios like home, irrigation, PWD and energy among themselves without consulting BJP leaders. Therefore, the original BJP men will get the departments untouched by these leaders, he predicted. He predicted that former minister, Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP will get muzrai department.

While welcoming the speaker's decision in disqualifying three members for anti-party activities, he said that the government would have survived if this punishment was announced earlier. "We had appealed to the speaker several times, demanding to disqualify the rebels and take stern steps against them. We had also warned the party high command about the possibility of Operation Lotus, but these warnings were overlooked," he rued.

About disqualification, he felt that the issue will take a minimum of one year to get settled. "If the ruling is in our favour, they will go to court, and if is against us, we will go to court. Therefore, this issue will linger for long," he said.

He also wondered about Yediyurappa forming the government even though he does not have the support of 111 members. He said there are lot of legal issues involved and felt that only future holds answers to questions like how long the new government will survive.