Driver suicide bid: Karnataka government orders probe

N Chaluvarayaswamy

The BJP and the JD(S) teamed up and cornered the Congress government over the suicide attempt by a KSRTC staffer that allegedly involves Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, forcing Home Minister G Parameshwara to order an inquiry into the matter.

The display of unity between the rivals comes as the saffron party and the JD(S) have been dropping hints of working together to take on the Siddaramaiah government, raising speculation on the larger political messaging.

H R Jagadish, a KSRTC driver-cum-conductor at the Nagamangala depot, consumed poison and tried to end his life on Wednesday. In his purported suicide note, he blamed Chaluvarayaswamy for allegedly getting him transferred.

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“An inquiry will be done by a team comprising senior officers, including transport department personnel,” Parameshwara said.

This assurance came after the Assembly erupted over the issue, as the BJP and JD(S) pinned the blame on the suicide attempt on “politically motivated” transfers, an accusation both parties have been making for the past few days.

Ex-CM Basavaraj Bommai, who raised the issue during Zero Hour, demanded an unbiased inquiry into the incident.

“There’s a suicide note. It’s been 36 hours and there’s no FIR in the case,” he said. “The employee was transferred with no explanation. Government employees are being harassed,” Bommai alleged, demanding the minister’s resignation.

Bommai cited the case of former BJP lawmaker K S Eshwarappa who resigned after he was blamed for the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil.

There were more fireworks when JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy clashed with Chaluvarayaswamy. “In many places, pressure was put on government employees whose family members were gram panchayat members ahead of the elections to grama panchayat presidents and vice-presidents,” Kumaraswamy alleged. “There should be a fair probe. For that, the minister should resign,” he said as JD(S) MLAs entered the Well.

Denying his role in Jagadish’s transfer, Chaluvarayaswamy accused Kumaraswamy of trying to gain political mileage.

“The patient (Jagadish) had to be shifted to Bengaluru or Mysuru. Kumaraswamy asked the family not to shift him until he came. What does that mean? If he died, it’d have helped him politically,” the minister charged.

A war of words ensued between Kumaraswamy and Chaluvarayaswamy, bringing out the rancour that has its origins in Mandya politics, as Chaluvarayaswamy was once with the JD(S).

Jagadish’s wife is said to be a gram panchayat member trying to become the president. “The claim that Congress is trying to bag the president’s post through intimidation is false. That question doesn’t arise because all 18 members of the Kanthapura panchayat are JD(S)-backed,” Chaluvarayaswamy said.

Initially, Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the KSRTC MD would be asked to inquire into the case. Unhappy, BJP members trooped into the Well and Speaker had to briefly adjourn the House.