Ex-Minister alleges conspiracy was hatched in apartment near Orion Mall
Rs 5 crore was given to girl featured in video, claims Jarkiholi
BENGALURU:
For the first time after resigning as Water Resources Minister after he was allegedly featured in a ‘sex video’, Gokak legislator Ramesh Jarkiholi came out openly to the media on Tuesday, alleging that the girl in the video was given Rs 5 crore, not Rs 50 lakh as mentioned earlier by Jarkiholi’s younger brother Balachandra Jarkiholi.
At a presser on Tuesday morning, the former minister said it was a conspiracy to ‘finish’ his political career and it was hatched in an apartment near Orion Mall as well as in an apartment which falls under the Yeshwanthpur police station limits.
In his half-hour interaction with the press, Jarkiholi rebutted the allegations made against him and said he stood by his initial claim that the CD was a fake. He said, “The CD is fake and I stand by what I said. It is a huge conspiracy hatched against me, and I have decided not to keep quiet. I will ensure that the truth comes out and all the people behind this conspiracy are put behind bars.”
Gets emotional
Turning emotional almost to the point of crying, Ramesh said the honour of his family was uppermost. “I cannot name the conspirators. But I know who these people are. The conspiracy was planned on the fourth floor near Yeshwanthpur police station and the fifth floor near Orion Mall. I cannot reveal more beyond that,” he added.
Jarkiholi thanked the Deve Gowda family, especially HD Kumaraswamy and his elder brother HD Revanna, who had ‘stood behind him’ despite his having played a key role in the toppling of the earlier coalition government. “I also thank my wife and family members,” he said.
‘I was told of CD months ago’
Ramesh claimed he was aware of the CD since the past four months. “Balachandra and former MLA Nagaraju had approached me four months ago and asked me about a CD over which there was a buzz. I had said that I did not know anything about it. Even the BJP top brass had called me 26 hours before the CD was released to the media and alerted me about the probable release. I was not scared because I did not do anything wrong. I had attended a meeting with the Chief Minister and the Home Minister on the same day the CD was given to the media. If I had done anything wrong, how would I have gone to take ‘darshan’ of Chamundi Devi in Mysuru?” he said. “I need media support during this crucial time,” Jarkiholi added.
‘Super leader’ behind CD…
Alluding to an ‘influential’ leader behind the CD’s release, Ramesh said that when he was made minister, a ‘super leader’ had predicted that he (Ramesh) would not be able to handle the department for long and would leave within three months. “I successfully managed the department. Frustrated at my success, this leader has weaved this conspiracy,” Jarkiholi alleged.
