BJP demands Satish Jarkiholi’s removal over ED allegations

Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Saturday demanded the immediate removal of Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satish Jarkiholi from the state Cabinet, citing allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding alleged bribe payments, overseas investments and mining assets.

Reacting to the ED’s recent searches at premises linked to Jarkiholi and his associates, Ashoka alleged that money collected through PWD contracts had been routed abroad and used to acquire overseas mining assets.

“The ED’s press brief has put Rahul Gandhi’s ‘ATM Sarkara’ in Karnataka under a passive cloud of suspicion,” Ashoka said in a statement. Ashoka alleged that the ED had found evidence suggesting that money allegedly collected from contractors, including Bharat Vanijya Eastern Pvt Ltd, was routed through unauthorised channels to acquire assets overseas.

He also pointed to the ED’s allegation that Jarkiholi had acquired a nearly 40 per cent stake in Magnitude Star SARL, a gold-mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo.