The Chief Minister of Karnataka said that a thorough investigation will be done in the Santosh Patil suicide case. (file)
Bangalore:
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday denied taking any action against Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa, against whom police have registered a case of abetment to suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, till the initial The investigation is not completed.
He said that the Santosh Patil suicide case would be thoroughly probed and the truth would come out, and based on the preliminary investigation, the government would decide to take action against Mr. Eshwarappa.
“There is no interference of the (BJP) high command on this issue, they have only received information, they have no role in it. As I have said for the first time, action will be taken on the basis of preliminary inquiry, let’s have preliminary inquiry. Mr Bommai said in response to a question about the BJP high command’s decision on Eshwarappa’s future as a minister.
Talking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “The postmortem has happened only late last night, now the investigation will start. Based on the outcome of the investigation, we will decide. In my first reaction on the first day itself, I have said that without preliminary investigation.” No action will be taken (against Eshwarappa).”
Asked whether the matter would be handed over to some other agency for investigation, the Chief Minister said, “Preliminary investigation (from the police side) is going on, based on that, let’s see what will happen.”
Resisting pressure to step down, Mr Eshwarappa had said on Wednesday that he would not step down.
Santosh Patil, a contractor from Belagavi, was found dead at a hotel in Udupi on Tuesday after Eshwarappa was accused of corruption.
In an purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil has blamed Mr Eshwarappa for his death.
Based on a complaint by Patil’s relative, the Udupi city police have registered a case of abetment to suicide against Eshwarappa.
Congress leaders are planning to answer siege On allegations of corruption against the government and demanding Mr Eshwarappa’s removal, Chief Minister Bommai said the main opposition party has no moral authority, as he also accused it of playing politics over the issue.
“There were many killings during the Congress rule, they withdrew cases against organizations involved in such killings. Since there was anarchy in the state, people rejected them. They have no moral rights. They do it for political gains. are doing.” They said.
Responding to Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah’s allegations about corruption in the Chief Minister’s Office and some ministers, Mr Bommai said, there is no need to respond to such baseless allegations.
“If they have any evidence then let them share, we will get it probed….. When Siddaramaiah was the chief minister there were many corruption cases and allegations, there was a big scam in BDA (Bengaluru Development Authority). He is in a responsible position, if he shares information on any specific matter, we will get it investigated or respond,” Mr Bommai said.
The Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) has threatened that its members will stop civil works for a month starting May 25 to protest corruption in various government departments.
Responding to a query on this, Mr Bommai said, “There are many contractor associations… I don’t know what they will decide. Tell them (associations) if they have any specific information or evidence. You (media) Have to question them and ask them how often will they make such vague allegations. If they share specific cases, I will definitely get them investigated.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)