Breaking his silence on the CD scandal on Tuesday, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa not only claimed that allegations of sexual harassment against BJP leader and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi were “baseless” but also that he would invite the latter to campaign for the party ahead of bypolls.
This statement comes even as the victim of the sex CD scandal recorded her statement against Mr. Jarkiholi before the magistrate in Bengaluru on the same day.
‘Will come out unscathed’
Speaking at Belagavi to reporters, the Chief Minister said, “This is nothing but a political conspiracy. Truth will come out only after the inquiry. The whole issue is aimed at bringing disrepute to the party and the leaders allegedly involved.” He said he was confident of Mr. Jarkiholi coming out unscathed from the controversy. “I invite him to campaign for our candidate in the bypoll. I am sure he will come,” he said.
On Monday evening, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah had questioned the Chief Minister’s continued silence on the issue.
‘Leaders won’t talk’
The Chief Minister said the issue would not affect the BJP’s electoral prospects. “Mr. Siddaramaiah or other party leaders may raise the issue, but BJP leaders will not talk about it. It is a criminal matter under investigation and not relevant to the bypolls,” said Mr. Yediyurappa.
In fact, leaders campaigning in North Karntaka refused to speak on the issue. While RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa said he would not like to comment when his attention was drawn to it at Hubballi, Umesh Katti at Belagavi had a similar response.
‘Satisfied with SIT’
The Chief Minister said he was satisfied about the pace of SIT’s inquiry. “It is going on smoothly and in an efficient manner. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has bee functioning in a responsible manner. He is not only keeping tabs on the investigation at every stage, but also briefing the media about it regularly. There is no need to suspect that the investigation is not going on properly,” he said.