Eshwarappa eats his words, says will quit

By Shyam Sundar Vattam/NT

On Wednesday, Karna-taka Rural Develop-ment and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa sounded defi-ant when he ruled out his resignation from the cabinet after being framed as the first accused in the suspicious death of a contractor from Belagavi.

The veteran Bharatiya  Janata Party (BJP) leader,  however, looked a pale shad- ow of his former self on  Thursday while addressing  a hurriedly-convened press  conference at his hometown  of Shivamogga to retract his  statement . “I will submit my  resignation to chief minister  (Basavaraj Bommai) in Ben- galuru tomorrow (Friday)  evening,” he said.

“I was the RDPR minister  under Bommai until this af- ternoon. Now, I have decided  to step down to prevent any  embarrassment to the party.  I have not done any mistakes.  I am ready to face any inqui- ry. Nobody is making me a  scapegoat in this case. I will  come out unscathed,” he said. 

Eshwarappa’s trouble began with the death of Santosh Patil, a civil contractor  from Belagavi. Patil, who  had accused Eshwarappa of  demanding 40 percent com- mission to release funds for  a completed road construc- tion work, was found dead at  a lodge in the coastal town of  Udupi on Tuesday.

A What- sapp message, believed to  have been sent by Patil, stated  that Eshwarappa was respon- sible for his death. The death created a furore  across the State with opposi- tion political parties launch- ing agitations demanding Es- hwarappa’s resignation and  arrest. The turn of events  apparently put the BJP on  the backfoot. It even over- shadowed the party leaders’  tour to different parts of the  State to rev up the rank and  file for the upcoming Assem- bly election.

What made Eshwarappa’s  continuance in the ministry  untenable was the Udupi  Police’s decision to arraign  him as the first accused First  Information Report (FIR) for  abetment to suicide. The FIR  was based on a complaint  filed by Prashant Patil, a  relative of the deceased con- tractor.

Bommai reacts

Reacting to the development,  Chief Bommai said Eshwarap- pa volunteered to resign to avoid  any kind of embarrassment to  the party.

“There was no pres- sure from the party high com- mand to demand Eshwarappa’s  resignation. But I had briefed the  party supremo about the entire  incident,” he said.

Bommai even took a dig at  the Congress leaders who have  been demanding Eshwarappa’s  resignation. “Congress is try ing to make a mountain out  of molehill. Its leaders do not  have the moral right to talk  about corruption,” he said.

He said the inquiry would  reveal the conspiracy behind  contractor Patil’s mysterious  death. “I will respond after the  report is out,” he said.