Daijiworld Media Network - Belagavi (MS)

Belagavi, Nov 16: "We had discussed of leaving Congress and joining BJP with the BJP national president Amit Shah in Hyderabad and put a condition that we will desert Congress and join BJP only if Yediyurappa is made the chief minister. Amit Shah had given me the permission by saying "Ramesh Go-ahead." Accordingly, all of us had come out of Congress and we have got victory in the long struggle from that time," said Ramesh Jarkiholi, revealing the secret behind 'Operation Lotus'.

Ramesh was speaking after inaugurating the felicitation ceremony in the city of Gokak. He further said, "When the coalition government came to power, they had kept the Congress MLAs at Bidadi Restaurant of Bengaluru. There we were like the dolls in the hands of D K Shivakumar. At that spot itself R Shankar and I hatched plan to bring down the coalition government. The arrogance of former CM Siddaramaiah and the corruption of D K Shivakumar are the reasons for the coalition government to collapse.

"Siddaramaiah had hatched a plan not to allow any person from the backward community to rise in the Congress party. No one, who has self-respect, can survive in the Congress party. The coalition government has not fallen due to the power hungriness of the BJP. It has collapsed because of the arrogance of the senior leaders of the party. I am not responsible for this. When self-respect is in trouble, defection is inevitable. So we had to join BJP.

"My brother Satish Jarkiholi has played dirty games behind my back. My younger brother Lakhan Jarkiholi has stabbed my back. Lakhan, who is the Congress candidate is my enemy from today and my opponent. Till December 5, he is not my younger brother. After the elections are over, we will be brothers again. Let God give good sense to Lakhan. H Vishwanath is my guru. Siddaramaiah is my junior in Congress. The Congress party has done the same dirty tricks that the British did with our country. They made a plan that they can defeat me by planning dirty tricks."

Criticizing Ramesh Jarkiholi as an opportunist politician, his brother and Yamakanamaradi MLA Sathish Jarkiholi said, "Belagavi district has suffered due to the greediness of BJP candidate Ramesh Jarkiholi. He is an opportunist politician. We will get Ramesh defeated and make this constituency free of corruption once again. Lakhan's ticket is finalized by the Congress party. People of the constituency are with us. Ramesh will bring people from four districts for his conference."