Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: IT/BT & Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday denied any links to the suicide of contractor Sachin Panchal in Bidar even as he lashed out at the BJP that has demanded his resignation.
Sachin is said to have left a note blaming Priyank’s aide Raju Kapnoor, a former councillor, and seven others for his death. “Am I among the eight persons accused? Have I been named anywhere? Is there any link with me like in the case of BJP’s K S Eshwarappa who was named by a contractor who died by suicide?” Priyank told a news conference.
“Such incidents (suicides) shouldn’t happen. But the government has nothing to do with this private transaction,” Priyank said.
According to Priyank, there are contradictory sides to the incident. “Sachin is saying one thing while the eight accused are saying something else. The accused are also claiming that it was Sachin who approached them and borrowed a loan to pay the Earnest Money Deposit for a tender he was supposed to be awarded. So, Rs 65 lakh was transferred, which they say was done legally, and Rs 15 lakh in cash was given,” he said. “What’s my role in a transaction took place between two sides?”
Priyank maintained that he wants a full investigation into the case. He also specified that he is not in touch with any of the accused. “The railway police are already investigating the matter,” he said.
Asked about Sachin’s claim in the purported death note that he had met the minister, Priyank said no. “I haven’t met him. Nobody meets me regarding tenders because people know I don’t interfere with that.”
Priyank also sought to know the genuineness of the death note. “It should be investigated forensically. The note claims that I spoke with the chief secretary. Is it possible to speak to the chief secretary about a tender? I don’t know what kind of mental pressure was there,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP, Priyank said the saffron party gets excited when such cases happen. “They see no law or logic,” he said. “I have become their deity, because they can’t stop chanting my name.” He also accused the BJP of covering up the POCSO case against former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and divert attention away from cases against MLA Munirathna.