Cong, JD(S) target BJP govt over contractor’s death in K’taka

Shivakumar said that widespread corruption and polarisation had impacted investor sentiments as well, directly affecting job and wealth creation in the state.

Hours after the body of a contractor — who had previously accused rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) minister KS Eshwarappa of demanding bribe for the road works he had done — was found in a lodge in Udupi district, a major political row erupted in the state with the Opposition parties demanding the minister’s resignation, calling the case a “murder” and not a “suicide”.

Reacting to the death, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said in a Twitter post that “it is a murder, not suicide.” (PTI)

Reacting to the death, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said in a Twitter post that “it is a murder, not suicide.” He further said, “If the BJP has any shame they will immediately arrest the minister.”

In his dying declaration, the victim had shared a WhatsApp message holding the minister responsible for his death. HT has seen a picture of this message but could not independently verify its authenticity.

The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) also intensified their attack on the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that has been accused of charging commissions or bribes to the tune of 40% of the total value of the project in order to receive final payments for public works.

Shivakumar said that widespread corruption and polarisation had impacted investor sentiments as well, directly affecting job and wealth creation in the state.

“I demand an immediate time-bound judicial inquiry into the alleged “suicide”. A businessman who had publicly alleged that BJP leaders and ministers were asking for bribes has been suspiciously found dead. Corruption is at an all-time high under the BJP rule,” he added.

“The unease of doing business in Karnataka is such that private companies don’t want to invest in the state. This is one of the reasons why we have high unemployment. Job creators are harassed by BJP’s corruption demands,” he added in a series of tweets.

“He was a BJP worker. He got a job to do a road work from RDPR department. He died by suicide and in a WhatsApp message, has said that Eshwarappa is directly responsible for his death. After making such an accusation, it is a kind of death note. What more evidence is required? He has said that Eshwarappa is directly responsible and died,” Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday. He added that a case under 302 (murder) be slapped against Eshwarappa and that the minister be dismissed and arrested.

The Congress has even demanded Bommai’s resignation. While Bommai said the police will conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, a defiant K S Eshwarappa refused to resign from the cabinet, insisting he was not at fault and that he had even filed a defamation suit against the deceased after he had alleged the RDPR had demanded 40% commission for some works.

“Earlier when an officer took his own life, did Siddaramaiah resign?” Bommai countered while talking to the media in Mangaluru.

Bommai was referring to a deputy superintendent of police who died by suicide on July 7, 2017, hours after he appeared on a local Kannada TV news channel, accusing the then home minister KJ George and two other senior police officials for harassing him and holding them responsible for his death.His suicide had led to widespread protests by the BJP, then the principal Opposition party, against the Congress government under Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah had initially defended his cabinet colleague but later he was forced to resign after an FIR was filed by the deceased family. The case was later handed over to the criminal investigation department (CID) — an agency that comes under the state government — evoking sharp responses from the public and political parties alike. Three months on (25 September 2016), George was re-inducted into the cabinet after the CID gave him and the two senior police officials a clean chit in its report, drawing sharp criticisms from citizen groups and political parties.

“I just know that he (the contractor) has died by suicide but don’t know why he took such an extreme step. It is said that he wrote a letter naming a minister but the truth of this matter should come out. Whether it is a ploy from within the BJP to finish off Eshwarappa or who really has a role to play in this. The truth has to come out,” former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said. “I had read in some newspaper that he was a BJP worker. If they (government) cannot protect their own workers, who else can they protect,” the JD(S) leader said.