BELAGAVI: Former BJP minister and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who resigned from the Yediyurappa ministry over a CD sex scandal, made grave allegations against KPCC president DK Shivakumar, terming him the “CD gang captain”.
Releasing an 18-second audio clip, said to be of Shivakumar speaking on the phone, Jarkiholi claimed the while the conversation was one-sided, it was all about raiding houses and finding Rs 40-45 crore in cash, and having houses in Mumbai, Delhi and abroad.
At his first press conference at a private hotel in Belagavi on Monday, Jarkiholi alleged, “Shivakumar is not eligible to be a politician. He has attempted to assassinate my character by using a woman. He should not have made such a dirty conspiracy… I have a lot of evidence which I will present before the competent authority.”
He wanted the police to arrest the six people involved in the CD, including the girl, and named two youths, Shravan and Harish. He also recollected old memories of his friendship with the Congress leader.
Shivakumar and his wife Usha had urged me not to quit the Congress,” he said. “My political relations in the district were damaged by MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar. She has joined hands with Shivakumar to turn black money white. CBI, Income Tax and ED officials should investigate,” Jarkiholi said. He claimed that politicians and IAS officers will become victims of this menace soon.
Hitting back, Hebbalkar’s younger brother and Congress MLC Channaraj Hattiholi claimed that Jarkiholi was a “liar”. At an emergency press conference, he condemned Jarkiholi and said he is making baseless allegations to undermine MLA Hebbalkar’s dominance in Belagavi.
“The people will teach him a lesson. Recently, he had announced that he would give Rs 6,000 for each vote in Sulebhavi village and all media houses telecast it. He had taken a big loan to start an ethanol unit in Soubhagyalaxmi sugar factory, but neither did he start the unit, nor did he repay the loan. The factory has gone bankrupt,” he alleged.
“Jarkiholi had invited us to join BJP. But we declined and advised him not to leave the party and damage the coalition government. Ever since, he has been making allegations against us,” Hattiholi said.
KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi told the media that the two leaders had been trading personal allegations for a long time. Satish, who was in Yamakanmardi, said the respective parties cannot speak about the charges. There is no need to link the charges to the party, he said.
