BENGALURU: Karnataka Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday pushed back against media coverage of his comments on the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) probe against him, insisting he had never “challenged” the central agency and calling on newsrooms to report his statements faithfully.
“Why should I challenge the ED? It is an investigating agency,” Jarkiholi told reporters, taking direct aim at a report whose headline had suggested he had thrown down a challenge to the agency. He said the characterisation was inaccurate and asked that the media “say clearly what I have actually said” rather than reframe it for effect.
His clarification comes after the ED conducted searches at 21 premises linked to Jarkiholi, his family members and associates across Bengaluru, Belagavi, Gokak and Kolkata on September 9 and 10, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The agency has alleged undisclosed overseas investments, cross-border business links, and irregularities in PWD contracts, and said it seized roughly Rs 3.45 crore in cash during the raids.
Jarkiholi has maintained throughout that the ED’s findings are, in his words, only “suspected” and “alleged,” and that nothing has been conclusively established against him. “The ED raids won’t damage me. If the ED issues a notice, I will answer,” he said, adding that he would respond point-by-point with documents once formally served.
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has publicly backed his cabinet colleague, describing the searches as “nothing but politics,” while Jarkiholi himself has alleged that central agencies pursue Congress leaders more aggressively than their BJP counterparts.