In a big development in Karnataka politics, State Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj KS Eshwarappa announced his resignation from office on Thursday, 14 April, after allegations of corruption and his alleged role in the suicide of a contractor surfaced.
The news of Eshwarappa’s resignation is huge given that it was not expected in the days after the allegations surfaced. Eshwarappa too had been defiant on the issue and even previously stated to media that there is “no question” of him resigning as a minister.
His resignation comes on the heels of the death of Santosh Patil, a contractor involved in various government projects. Patil was found dead in a hotel in Udupi on 12 April. In the final message that he purportedly sent to his friends, he named Eshwarappa as "solely responsible" for his death.
Pertinently, Patil had also alleged that Eshwarappa harassed him for a bribe to clear the bills regarding some construction work, reportedly asking for a 40 percent bribe of the total cost of the project, which reportedly amounted to a whopping Rs 4 crore.
The Udupi police had also registered an FIR against Eshwarappa and two of his aides under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with abetment to suicide. Although the minister has denied the charges, his surprise resignation throws a new twist in the entire case, with the question being: was he pushed to resign from office?
We discuss the resignations and the case with The Quint’s South Bureau Chief Nikhila Henry and Naheed Ataulla, a senior journalist based in Bengaluru.
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