Karnataka Home Minister slams Congress, says it doesn't want truth in Ramesh Jarkiholi case

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday slammed Congress' reaction in the alleged sex tape scandal surrounding former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, saying that the party does not want truthfulness in the case and is politicising the issue.

In an Assembly session on Tuesday, Bommai publicly criticised the behaviour of Congress members who staged a protest demanding the resignations of six ministers and a case against Ramesh Jarakiholi under section Section 376 of IPC.

"What happened in the case of the then Minister HY Meti when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister? The Meti case was handed over to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to ascertain the authenticity of the CD which was aired in the media. The FIR was not registered at any police station in the Meti case. There were no terms and references to the inquiry," he said.

In the Meti case, only one person was assigned to investigate, but we have created a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Before the trial, copies of the order against Meti were shown to the media and Methi was given a chit later," he added.

He further said that the same Congress legislators had stood against the woman involved in the Meti case, but are now demanding action against Jarkiholi.

He said that people will not listen to the Congress leaders for their behaviour in the Assembly, adding that "We do not need to learn a lesson from the Congress".

Congress on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bengaluru, against Jarkiholi for his alleged involvement in money laundering in connection with a sex CD scandal.

A case was registered on March 2 against Jarkiholi for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman after a purported sex tape surfaced showing him in a compromising position with a woman.

Following the allegations, Jarkiholi resigned on March 3. He had denied allegations that he had sexually exploited a woman in return for a government job, saying that the scandal was a conspiracy against him and that the CD was "fake".

( With inputs from ANI )