BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi claims same conspirators behind his sex CD row & contractor's suicide case
Belagavi, Apr 14: Former Minister and BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi on Thursday claimed that the same team of conspirators were behind the 'sex CD scandal' involving him and the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, the case in which Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa has been booked for abetting, as he demanded a CBI probe into both issues.
Noting that he will reveal certain facts regarding the case at a press meet on April 18, after getting permission from the BJP high command, he said Eshwarappa should not resign until he is proven wrong.
The BJP leader however, has not revealed the names of alleged conspirators so far.
"I don't want to talk much, as I'm amidst family members who are grieving. I want to say that on Monday at 11 AM, I will hold a press meet, after talking to our high command. Same conspirators team is behind both Eshwarappa and Ramesh Jarkiholi (cases), I want to reveal it. I will speak after taking permission from the high command," Jarkiholi said.
Speaking to reporters here, after offering his condolence to Santosh Patil's family, he said, Eshwarappa should not resign, until his alleged involvement or wrong doing is proved.
"....I have suffered for the last one year because of a conspiracy against me, it should not happen to Eshwarappa, if he is wrong, let the court give him any punishment...I know what has happened behind, some people are trying to play politics," he added.
In March last year, news channels had aired videos of the alleged sex scandal, involving Jarkiholi, who was then the Water Resources Minister in Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa-led cabinet. He had subsequently resigned and has repeatedly claimed that he was innocent and that the video was "fake".
Meanwhile, Santosh Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor was found dead in an Udupi hotel on Tuesday, weeks after accusing Eshwarappa, who is also a senior BJP leader, of corruption.
In a purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil has blamed Eshwarappa for his death.
Further, raising questions about Santosh Patil's suicide, Jarkiholi said, "He had made a phone call to Nagesh (one of his associates) a few days ago and had said that Ramesh Jorkiholi will soon become a Minister with the Rural Development Ministry as portfolio and things will be good...why will he die? there is a question mark....I will reveal things on Monday."
Urging that his CD case and Santosh Patil's death have to be handed over to CBI for probe, he said, "...if both are given, the probe will reveal the Mahan Nayaka, who is behind it....it is the same team (in both cases).... let me not take names now, it will be wrong."
Jarkiholi earlier too had hinted about involvement of a "Mahan Nayaka" (great leader) behind the video clip allegedly involving him and its leak, and had accused state Congress President D K Shivakumar for indulging in a "filthy conspiracy".
Reacting to Jarkiholi's fresh claims, Shivakumar in Bengaluru said, "he should be first arrested...let him do whatever they want, we are ready for everything..."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
