Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Wednesday resigned from his post a day after a video emerged showing him in compromising positions with a woman.
In his resignation letter to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Jarkiholi wrote, "Allegation against me is far from truth. As fair investigation should take place, I'm resigning on moral grounds."
Protests were held in Bengaluru and Shivamogga demanding the resignation of Ramesh Jarkiholi.
According to an activist, the woman had approached Ramesh Jarkiholi for making a documentary on dams, but he promised her a government job and sexually exploited her.
On Tuesday, Ramesh Jarkiholi told a private TV channel he was shocked by the CD and sought a probe into the case.
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Karnataka Home Minister Basavraj Bommai on Wednesday said the state police would inquire into the incident based on the complaint. The opposition Congress had sought the immediate resignation of Ramesh Jarkiholi and registration of an FIR.
However, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday expressed support for Ramesh Jarkiholi. Narayan was quoted by ANI as saying, "We have seen treachery, vendetta, honey trap, blackmailing as the motive behind such videos. The truth will come out after an investigation."
Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi was one of the 14 rebel Congress MLAs, whose resignation en masse had led to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in July 2019, paving the way for the formation of a BJP government in the state. Jarkiholi had got re-elected on a BJP ticket and was inducted into the B.S. Yediyurappa cabinet.
