MLA and Congress leader Lakshmi Hebbalkar has threatened legal action against BJP leader and district in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi for making some allegedly baseless remarks against her.
In a video statement she issued to her followers, she said that she would file a case against him for spreading lies about her and for speaking on an issue that was sub judice.
She was referring to his statement indicating that he had financed her election campaign. At the inauguration of the BJP rural unit office in Hindalaga on Tuesday, Mr. Jarkiholi had claimed that Ms. Hebbalkar had not spent her own funds in distributing pressure cookers to voters in Belagavi rural constituency. “It was my money that the Congress candidate spent in distributing cookers, not her money,’’ he had said.
He said that as a loyal Congressman, he had supported Ms. Hebbalkar in her fight against her BJP’s Sanjay Patil in the 2018 Assembly polls. “But the next time, I will make sure that such injustice is not repeated. We have to bring the BJP to power in 2023,’’ he said. “My experience, coupled with the BJP’s cadre base, can eliminate the Congress from the district,” he claimed.
“I have heard that some Opposition leaders were spending huge sums to ensure the victory of their nominees, in the coming elections to the Belagavi district central cooperative bank. I will spend double the money that they spend to see that our candidates win,’’ the recent entrant to the BJP said.
“DCC bank is not a political body and the polls are not held on party basis. But we have to prove our influence on all such bodies,’’ Mr. Jarkiholi added.
In her response, Ms. Hebbalkar said that the Minister was “acting irresponsibly”. “He is indulging in vengeful politics. I am not someone who feels threatened by empty threats. I will fight off all such challenges,” she said.
The MLA said that she would complain to the State Election Commission about his claim that he would spend double the money than his opponents, with the video proof of his statements.
She claimed that she had distributed cookers to the people in some villages as part of the publicity campaign for Harsha sugar factories that her family manages. If the Minister has evidence to counter this, he should show it to the people, she said. “This issue is before the court. Speaking about it would be sub judice. We will go to court against such statements.’
“He is speaking about creating a new history in the district. But he should focus on the huge sugarcane arrears that his factories owe to farmers. Some sugarcane growers have ended their lives, as they were not paid on time by the factories,” she said.
Ms. Hebbalkar told The Hindu that she was consulting her lawyers and was yet to decide on the format of the case or about its timing. “I will take all video clips and other evidence to my lawyer in Bengaluru in one or two days before taking a decision,” she added.
Mr. Jarkiholi told The Hindu that he would stand by his statement.
