Contractor's death new ammo for Congress to target BJP govt

Targeting the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, the Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa following the alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil on Tuesday.

A Belagavi-based contractor, Santosh Patil, was found dead in an Udupi hotel on Tuesday, weeks after accusing the senior BJP leader of corruption.

In a purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil blamed Eshwarappa for his death. He even appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bommai and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa to help his family.

Patil’s death has given the Congress new ammunition to go after the Bommai government, as the party had already started an offensive against kickback charges levelled by the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association in its July 2021 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, complaining that they are forced to pay a 40% cut.

Also Read | Death of contractor: No question of resigning, says K S Eshwarappa

Congress demanded Eshwarappa’s sacking and arrest.

“BJP’s 40% commission government in Karnataka has claimed the life of their own karyakarta. The victim’s pleas to the PM went unanswered. PM & CM are complicit,” former AICC president Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.

“The death of contractor Santosh Patil is tragic & a result of ‘commission politics’ of BJP,” Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said.

“PM Modi should be ashamed to coin the slogan ‘Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga’. He should limit himself to writing scripts for Bollywood films, instead of running the government. I am not sure if he is capable of doing even that,” he said.

Also Read: Karnataka CM promises impartial probe into Santhosh Patil's death

The Congress staged a protest outside Eshwarappa’s house in Shivamogga.

While AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded Eshwarappa’s arrest and dismissal, KPCC president D K Shivakumar said the BJP government did nothing even after Patil went public with his allegations. “They killed him,” Shivakumar claimed.

This is the second time in a span of three months that Congress is going after Eshwarappa. In February, Congress staged protests inside the Legislative Assembly seeking the minister’s ouster after he suggested that the Bhagwa (saffron flag) may replace the tricolour in the future.

Also Read | After accusing Minister Eshwarappa of corruption, Belagavi BJP worker ends life

On the defensive, BJP leaders backed Eshwarappa insofar as saying that everyone should first wait for the police to probe Patil’s death before jumping to conclusions.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, a party that rose on the corruption plank, petitioned the High Grounds police station seeking Eshwarappa’s arrest to prevent any destruction of evidence. AAP state vice-president Mohan Dasari said Eshwarappa should be booked for abetting suicide.

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