Contractor's death: Under fire, Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa to resign on Friday

Tribune News Service

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, April 14

Under fire over the death of a contractor in Udupi, Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa on Thursday said he will submit his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tomorrow.

Eshwarappa is facing charges of abetment to suicide in connection with the death of civil contractor Santosh Patil, who had accused the Minister of corruption.

Speaking to media persons in Shivamogga, Eshwarappa said: “I trust God; I am confident I will come out clean. I will cooperate in the probe. I am grateful to Central and state leaders for giving me an opportunity to serve as Minister”.

Earlier, Eshwarappa, who claimed Patil to be a “pawn in a larger conspiracy”, said there is no question of him resigning. “I have informed CM Bommai and the party president that there is no question of me resigning as a Minister,” he said on Wednesday.

Even Bommai said that action will only be taken only after the case has been thoroughly investigated. Slamming the Congress, the CM said the party does not have any moral right to protest.  “The Congress is a Gangotri of corruption. The post-mortem (of Santosh Patil) was done yesterday and a preliminary inquiry will come. Based on that we will proceed,” he said.

Though Eshwarappa claimed “no interference of (BJP) high command on this issue,” sources said he was directed by the Central leadership to resign in order to avoid further embarrassment and negative perceptions against the BJP. “The party wants to send the right message,” they added 

“The state goes to the polls next year. For the BJP, which claims to have zero tolerance towards corruption, the case can be politically damaging considering that Patil was also said to have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bommai complaining about the 40 % cut money demanded by the Minister and his associates,” said observers  

It was a difficult choice for the BJP leadership given the 73-year-old leader belongs to the politically significant Kuruba (backward class) community and, along with former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and late Ananth Kumar, is credited with building the BJP in Karnataka.

Given the BJP’s unofficial cut-off limit of 75 years for a ministerial berth, Eshwarappa would have been “eased out gradually”. However, amid a string of communal controversies in the state, the Opposition was using the incident to target the BJP.

Senior Karnataka Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were detained today following a protest to demand his arrest and ouster. Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who was also part of the protest and was detained, said that “instead of arresting Eshwarappa, the 40% commission Bommai government arrested former CM Siddaramaiah, PCC Chief D K Shivakumar” and Congress leaders and activists.

“The BJP can’t put a lid over corruption by such acts of suppression on Babasaheb Jayanti,” he said, calling upon people of Karnataka “to participate in the ‘yajna’ to cleanse Karnataka of corruption. We will not relent, we will not bow down until Eshwarappa is arrested and sacked,” he said.

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