BELAGAVI: Gokak BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi on Monday said that after winning the elections for six consecutive times, he will contest the upcoming election and plans to retire from politics after serving the term. He also said he will leave it to the party workers, leader and his supporters if he should contest for an eighth time too.
Stating that the younger leaders should be given a chance, Jarkiholi said he had decided not to contest the upcoming election too, but he is doing so to challenge the ‘mahanayaka’ and ensure that he is sidelined in politics, in an indirect reference to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar. Jarkiholi was addressing a party workers’ convention at Konnur in Gokak taluk on Monday.
“He conspired against me and is indulging in dirty politics like an impotent person. I will not rest till I send him packing home. I will stake my life to bring the BJP back to power in the upcoming election and I am ready for any sort of sacrifice for that”, he declared.
Jarkiholi, who also addressed a press conference, launched a direct attack on Shivakumar saying that it’s a personal fight between the two and that he had waited for one-and-half years for it. Shivakumar is unfit to be in politics and anyone who destroys another person’s life should not be in politics.
On the CD gate issue, Jarkiholi claimed he had evidence to prove that it was a conspiracy and said that he will hand it over to the CBI for a probe. Thanking his wife, children, brothers and supporters for standing by him, he said, “I admitted to it as it was required under law. The woman and two people from Mandya, Shravan and Naresh, and a granite business from Kanakapura and his driver Parashivamurthy should be arrested for defaming me”, he demanded.
“After the CD was released, he tried to defend himself that he was not involved in it. They have hundreds of CDs of several politicians and officials. The government should consider this seriously and the investigation should be handed over to the CBI. D K Shivakumar should also be arrested”, he demanded. He also claimed that when he was Cooperatives Minister, Shivakumar had requested that a file regarding the Shantinath Cooperative Bank be cleared. Since it related to a fraud of Rs 10,000 crore, I did not clear it and since then, the bitterness started”, he pointed out.
Referring to an audio clip, he said the person boasts to his girlfried about having houses in Dubai and London, and having thousands of crores. “I have an audio where Shivakumar claims he spent Rs 40 crore on the CD”, Jarkiholi said. He also said that the woman in the CD is being sheltered in the house of a Congress functionary and vowed to finish off Shivakumar in the next five years.