Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday made it clear that his senior Cabinet colleague KS Eshwarappa will not resign until a preliminary inquiry into the death of contractor Santosh Patil is done.
“I have said before that there won’t be any action until preliminary inquiry is done,” Bommai told reporters on the possibility of Eshwarappa’s resignation.
Eshwarappa, the rural development and panchayat raj minister, has been booked for abetting the suicide of Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor who was found dead at an Udupi hotel earlier this week, weeks after he accused the BJP leader of demanding a 40 per cent cut in the payment of work bills.
Bommai specified that the BJP central leadership has not taken a decision. “There’s no decision or interference from the high command. They’ve only sought information. They don’t have a role in this,” he said.
This gives Eshwarappa some breathing space amid pressure that he should step down.
According to sources, the BJP is indecisive on asking Eshwarappa to resign. On the one hand, the party is worried that his continuation in the Cabinet will have an adverse impact given that he has been named in the FIR. On the other hand, the party also believes that any move to sack or drop Eshwarappa will give credence to corruption charges.
The Congress has announced a major offensive seeking Eshwarappa’s dismissal and arrest. “The Congress has no moral right,” Bommai said. “When they were in power, cases were withdrawn on organisations that were behind many killings that took place. People rejected them for the anarchy that was created in the state. Now, they’re just looking for political gains,” he said.
“Patil’s suicide case will be comprehensively investigated and the truth will come out,” he said.
Asked if the case will be handed over to the CID or some other probe agency, Bommai said that would depend on the outcome of the preliminary inquiry. “I’ve said earlier that action will be taken after the preliminary inquiry. It was only late last night that the post mortem was done. So, the investigation will start now,” he said.
Bommai lashed out at Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah for hurling allegations of corruption at the chief minister’s office. “There were many cases and allegations of corruption when Siddaramaiah was CM. There was a huge BDA scam. What right does he have? And, he’s occupying a responsible position. If he has any specifics, then we will have them investigated,” he said.
Bommai applied the same logic to corruption charges made by the Karnataka State Contractors Association. “You (media) should pull them up for making vague allegations. Please, if they have any specific cases, I’ll have them probed,” he said.