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Randeep Surjewala, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, on Friday dismissed the reports that Minister Satish Jarkiholi was served notice by Congress high command for his public statement regarding the change of leadership in the state's unit of the party.
"I don't know who is spreading all these rumours. There is no reason to issue any notice to any minister or individual," Surjewala told reporters here. On Wednesday, Satish Jarkiholi sought that the Congress high command expedite the process of appointing a full-time KPCC president as the tenure of the incumbent, DK Shivakumar, ended six months ago, after the Lok Sabha elections. Jarkiholi is considered a loyalist of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. When asked about the possible change of KPCC President, Surjewala said, "If the KPCC President was being replaced, why should he come here?" The reported internal rift in the Congress party in Karnataka recently came out in the open with the loyalists of Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah making public statements. KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary on Thursday said the high command had sought a report on Cabinet Ministers who are speaking on leadership change, adding that it was not right to speak in public on the issue. Jarkiholi had said that the speed of the party organisation's work had slowed down after the 2023 Assembly elections as Shivakumar is busy as the Deputy Chief Minister and also holds two major portfolios of Bengaluru Development and Water Resources. Responding to Jarkiholi, Shivakumar on Thursday said that his incumbent position in the party, i.e. the chief of Karnataka Congress, is "Not available in the shop". "KPCC [Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee] post is not available even in the shop, even if you speak in front of the media, you will not get it," he had said. Responding to a question about the change in the post of KPCC president, he had told reporters: "The party leaders will recognize the work and effort we do and give us a suitable post." (ANI)
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