Contractor Suicide : Under Fire K S Eshwarappa Resigns ; Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Insists No Setback To Party

Picture : Twitter / ANI

Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, on Friday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

As a political furore erupted, Eshwarappa had on Thursday evening announced his resignation as minister.

Eshwarappa’s supporters, who had gathered near the chief minister’s official residence, shouted slogans asking him not to resign, and against Congress leaders.

For last 4 days, I’ve been asking my seniors to accept my resignation, today they accepted it. There is a conspiracy behind all this, KS Eshwarappa told ANI after tendering his resignation to CM over his alleged involvement in alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil

Santosh Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor, was found dead at a hotel in Udupi on Tuesday, weeks after accusing Eshwarappa, who is also a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, of corruption.

In a purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil had blamed Eshwarappa for his death.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, had earlier said the resignation of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, cannot be considered a “setback” for the government.

He said the truth will come out from the investigation and asked the opposition Congress, which is demanding Eshwarappa’s arrest, not to become investigators, prosecutors and judges themselves.