Senior Congress leader and former Minister H.K. Patil on Wednesday said that he is not an aspirant for a Cabinet berth with the brand of caste.

“I have not tried to get positions under the caste quota. Such circumstances have not come to me. I secured positions on the basis of merit. I have not encouraged any caste politics”, he said.

Mr. Patil took a dig at the All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha Youth Wing’s president Umesh Patil’s statement that he (H.K. Patil) does not belong to the Veerashaiva Lingayat community to claim a Cabinet berth.

In a two-page letter to G. Parameshwara, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr. Patil said the party leaders have supported him on the basis of merit and provided various positions in the government and the party. “Now also I am not seeking any position on the basis of caste”, Mr. Patil, who was Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister in the Siddaramaiah government, said.

Noting that he and his party colleague and former Minister Ramalinga Reddy belonged to the Reddy community, Mr. Patil said those who have no merit have been doing caste politics and seeking positions under the caste quota.