Bengaluru, Mar 9: Scandal-hit BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi on Tuesday said that he knew about the sex tape four months ago, and said that the "conspiracy" against him was hatched in Bengaluru.
Claiming the tape to be fake, Jarkiholi further hinted that he knows the person who is behind the "conspiracy".
He resigned as the water resources minister last week after news channels aired a video allegedly showing him getting intimate with an unidentified woman, which became a sensational scandal. A police complaint was filed accusing him of sexually exploiting the woman.
In a twist, however, social activist Dinesh Kallahalli, who had filed the complaint, later decided to withdraw it.
"This (sex) CD is 100% fake. There’s no truth," a teary-eyed Jarkiholi said as he sought the support of mediapersons during a press conference.
"I got to know about the CD four months ago. I was asked about it then and I said I had no idea. I didn't act because it was not the truth," he said. "I got a call from a well-wisher 26 hours before the tape went public. I was warned. Still, I was undeterred because I have not done anything wrong," he said, adding that the scandal has hurt him a great deal.
He said "one great leader" was behind the conspiracy against him. "I'm not at liberty to say much. But I will say that this conspiracy was hatched in two places in Bengaluru - on the fourth floor of Yeshwanthpur police station and on the fifth floor of somewhere near Orion Mall," he said.
The Belagavi strongman vowed to "put in jail" those responsible for the scandal.
The unidentified woman seen in the video has been paid a huge sum, Ramesh claimed. "The information I have is that she got Rs 5 crore and two flats overseas. This isn't confirmed. All this should come (in the inquiry)," he said.
Jarkiholi thanked his wife, children, brothers, well-wishers, relatives, constituents and the people of Karnataka for "standing" by him. He also expressed gratitude to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and thanked JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy. "It was Kumaraswamy and (his brother) HD Revanna who spoke with me first," he said.
Jarkiholi, who represents Gokak, was among the chief architects in causing the downfall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition, paving the way for the BJP to come to power. He was earlier with the Congress.
"I resigned on my own accord, not because someone asked me to. I didn't want to cause embarrassment to my party," he said. "I’m not interested in politics. My family is more important to me."
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