Karnataka: Eshwarappa quits, says truth will come out

Addressing supporters before leaving for Bengaluru, Eshwarappa claimed he was ready to resign as soon as he was linked to the death of the civil contractor Santhosh Patil, 40, on April 12 but had been dissuaded by Chief Minister Bommai and other party leaders.

On his way to Bengaluru, during a stopover at Lingayat Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur, Eshwarappa, an OBC Kuruba community leader, expressed confidence that truth regarding the corruption allegations made by the civil contractor prior to his death “will come out today or tomorrow” after the police investigation.

“The question that now arises is that Santhosh Patil said he has done work worth Rs 4 crore and that Eshwarappa’s people sought a commission. A reply has been given regarding this by the state government itself to the Centre that no such work has been done. It has been said that there was no technical approval or administrative approval for the work and there has been no supervision by the department,” Eshwarappa said.

“We need to find out who is behind this conspiracy? Are individuals involved? Is there a political party or organisation involved? The truth will come out today or tomorrow,” he said.

Eshwarappa refused to respond to allegations made by BJP MLA Basavaraj Patil Yatnal that a youth leader from the BJP itself was behind the conspiracy – along with a leader from another party – that led to the ouster of the minister.

The veteran leader submitted his resignation a day ahead of the arrival of BJP national president J P Nadda in Karnataka to attend a weekend meeting of the BJP state executive.

Civil contractor Santhosh Patil was found dead in a lodge in the Udupi region on April 12. He is suspected to have consumed poison, and the police are investigating it as a suspected case of suicide. Prior to his death, Patil had accused Eshwarappa and two associates of not releasing payments for road work worth Rs 4 crore, which he carried out at Hindalga village in Belagavi, and demanding a 40 per cent commission.

Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Bommai ruled out the arrest of Eshwarappa as demanded by the opposition Congress.

“The police should be allowed to do their job. Did the Congress party arrest George (K J George, the former home minister who was linked to the death of a police officer)? The Karnataka Police did not arrest him and even the CBI did not arrest him. The CBI was working under an NDA government but it did not arrest him. What needs to be done in the investigation will be decided by the police,” Bommai said.

He said Eshwarappa had requested for completion of the investigation at the earliest.

“In my view, when I see the developments, the way the work has been done and the payments claimed, the full investigations will exonerate Eshwarappa – as he believes it would,” Bommai said.

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, meanwhile, asked why Bommai was accepting Eshwarappa’s resignation if he was innocent. “The Chief Minister has suggested that Eshwarappa has not done anything wrong. If he did not do anything, why are you accepting his resignation?” he asked.