Unhappy over not being allotted Union Cabinet berth, 7-time MP from Karnataka Ramesh Jigajinagi asks if Dalits did not back BJP

Responding to media queries on him missing the Cabinet berth, he said, “I do not require a Cabinet berth; I require the support of the people. People abused me when I came back (after the election results). They reminded me of what they had said in the past about the party being against Dalits, and not to join it.”

He added, “Tell me whether this is justice or injustice. In the entire South India, I am the only Dalit who won seven consecutive elections. All upper caste (MPs) became ministers. Have Dalits not supported the BJP? This (not being allotted a Cabinet berth) has hurt me a lot.”

The MPs from Karnataka, who are a part of the Union Cabinet, include BJP MPs Pralhad Joshi (Brahmin), V Somanna (Lingayat), Shobha Karandlaje (Vokkaliga) and JD(S)’s H D Kumaraswamy (Vokkaliga).

The 72-year-old Jigajinagi was first elected as an MP in 1998 and has won all the Lok Sabha elections since then. He was Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation from 2016 and 2019.