Bengaluru: A day after the Karnataka cabinet was reshuffled, senior Congress legislator Ramalinga Reddy hit out at his party after he was denied a berth in the new cabinet.
The former home minister also accused the party of ignoring those who have been associated with it for long.
"Those who have been in the party from the beginning are not even talked to. Those who say they are going to leave are called and pacified. A couple of such people have been made ministers," he told media on Sunday.
Reddy had earlier been tight-lipped about his disappointment for being denied a cabinet berth until a few weeks ago.
He reiterated that the party's decision to give preference to some seniors and leaving the rest like him out of it was unfair.
"There are two people in the party who want to sideline me. Will reveal names when the time comes," he said.
"There are three or four people who take decisions here. They explain it to Delhi and the high command goes by those words," he added.
While repeatedly saying that he has not and will not speak with the party for a cabinet berth, he said he was only upset about the yardstick used by the party to arrive at these decisions.
"I have criticised the BJP in the state and at the Centre. Only a couple of other leaders in our party did that. The rest were scared," he said.
Ever since the names for the second round of cabinet expansion and reshuffle came out, leaders whose names were excluded have expressed their disappointment.
Party president in Karnataka Dinesh Gundu Rao has already warned dissenters saying that strict action will be taken against misconduct of party members.
"Members had been inducted based on merit and regional representation. Those who haven't been given berths may still be accommodated as non-performing ministers," he said.
Ministers R Shankar and Ramesh Jarakiholi were dropped from the cabinet giving way for two more aspirants on Saturday.
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