Contractor dying: Congress calls for arrest of Karnataka minister Eshwarappa on homicide cost

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Stepping up the ante towards the BJP over the dying of a civil contractor in Karnataka, the Congress on Wednesday stated arresting minister Okay S Eshwarappa on homicide and corruption prices is the one manner to make sure justice.

Congress basic secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala additionally questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP president J P Nadda on the dying of Santhosh Patil who had levelled bribery prices towards the senior minister earlier.

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Eshwarappa has been booked for abetment of suicide primarily based on a grievance from Prashanth Patil, the brother of the deceased.

The 37-year-old contractor, who claimed to be a BJP employee, was discovered lifeless at a lodge in Udupi in a case of suspected suicide on Tuesday.

“Arresting Minister Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to give justice to a BJP worker,” Surjewala stated.

“Why is PM silent? Why is CM mum? Why is BJP president quiet? The deafening silence of BJP points to complicity in corruption at the highest echelons of power,” the Congress chief stated on Twitter. He additionally alleged that the BJP is mired in corruption in Karnataka and it’s time to present them the door.

“Top to bottom, the entire BJP Govt is mired in the muck of corruption. Time to show BJP the door in Karnataka,” Surjewala stated, after the president of contractors’ affiliation in Karnataka alleged that the chief minister’s workplace was concerned within the matter.

Surjewala additionally met the household of the deceased contractor in Belgaum and warranted that the celebration would battle to make sure justice to them. He was accompanied by a number of state Congress leaders.

“The pain, anguish and anger of family cannot be described in words. The Congress will fight for justice to Santosh Patil. Our demands are arrest Eshwarappa, add section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the FIR, release Rs 4 crore payment for contract and Rs 1 crore compensation to the family and a government job for his wife. The Congress will give Rs 11 lakh assistance to the family in this hour of grief,” he stated.

The dying of the contractor triggered an enormous political row with the Congress demanding the resignation of Eshwarappa or his dismissal from the Cabinet.

The Congress additionally urged state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss Eshwarappa from the Council of Ministers, even because the embattled BJP chief referred to as for a probe into the “conspiracy” behind the dying of Patil.

While Chief Minister Bommai stated the police would conduct a radical and clear investigation, Eshwarappa rejected the demand for his resignation.

In his purported suicide notice despatched by WhatsApp to some media homes, Patil, who hails from Belagavi district, allegedly held Eshwarappa answerable for his dying.

A defiant Eshwarappa, nonetheless, maintained he was not at fault and stated he had even filed a defamation go well with towards Patil after the contractor had alleged that the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Minister had demanded 40 per cent fee for some works.

On March 30, Patil, who had claimed that he was a BJP employee, stated he had executed a piece within the RDPR division and wished the fee attributable to him however Eshwarappa allegedly demanded 40 per cent fee within the Rs 4 crore work, prompting the opposition Congress to dub the BJP dispensation in Karnataka as a “40 per cent sarkar”.