Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday, 16 September publicly backed Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi in the wake of Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids linked to him, and took personal responsibility for the continued absence of a woman minister in the Karnataka Cabinet. Addressing reporters at the state unit office in Bengaluru, Surjewala alleged a pattern of political misuse of central agencies against Congress leaders from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.

ED Raids and the Congress Pushback

Surjewala alleged that the central investigative machinery had been selectively deployed against Congress leaders belonging to marginalised communities. He cited a string of ED actions — against Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress MLA Na.Ra. Bharat Reddy, former minister B. Nagendra, Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, and MLA Veerendra Pappi — to argue that the targeting was systematic.

'Minister for PWD Satish Jarkiholi has been targeted twice,' Surjewala said, adding: 'The reason behind these raids is that all these leaders hail from SC and ST communities. We will not bow down for any reason before the Central government. We are all with Minister Satish Jarkiholi.'

He further questioned why prosecution proceedings against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders — including Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, former minister Janardhana Reddy, and Renukacharya — had not produced comparable outcomes. 'Don't they have prosecution pending against them? Already the ED stands exposed,' he said.

Allegation of Political Weaponisation

Surjewala framed the raids in explicitly electoral terms, alleging: 'The ED has been working as the election wing of the party. Whenever elections come near, ED, CBI, and IT come into the picture. Afterwards, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrive in the state.' The Congress has consistently levelled such allegations at the Centre; the BJP and federal agencies have denied political interference in investigative decisions.

Surjewala Takes Blame for No Woman in Karnataka Cabinet

In a notable admission, Surjewala accepted sole responsibility for the vacancy of the woman minister's berth in the Karnataka Cabinet — distancing the Congress high command in Delhi from the delay. 'In the Cabinet, there is no woman minister. The mistake is mine. It is not the mistake of the high command sitting in Delhi. It is my mistake. I have not been able to finalise one candidate in this regard,' he said.

He attributed the delay to the presence of 'more than one aspirant' for the post, making consensus difficult. He said the matter would be resolved after consultations with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and state unit President B.K. Hariprasad, both of whom he said were pressing him on the issue daily.

Separately, Congress MLC Gayathri Shantegowda met Chief Minister Shivakumar at his residence in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Her name had reportedly featured in an earlier list of ministers during the Cabinet expansion, but she did not take oath alongside the others.

Political Context and Opposition Dig

Surjewala also turned the focus on critics pointing to the Congress's women representation gap. Invoking the BJP–JD(S) coalition government's record, he said: 'I want to remind those who are making noises that they themselves were Women and Child Welfare Minister for the full term during their tenure — that was Mr Kumaraswamy in the BJP and JD-S coalition government.'

The Cabinet post earmarked for a woman has remained vacant since the expansion, and Wednesday's remarks signal that a resolution remains contingent on internal Karnataka Congress negotiations rather than a Delhi directive. How quickly that vacancy is filled will be watched as a measure of the Congress's stated commitment to women's empowerment in the state.