Bommai ducks questions on Eshwarappa’s cabinet induction
The statements add to uncertainty that Eshwarappa, one of the senior most Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the state, will make his way back into the council of ministers from which he was forced to step down in April.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday dodged a question of a possible reinduction of KS Eshwarappa, who was given a clean chit in the Santosh Patil death case, into the state cabinet.
“Let the report (B report) be filed (and then) lets see,” Bommai said on a question of the possible reinduction of Eshwarappa.
The statements add to uncertainty that Eshwarappa, one of the senior most Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the state, will make his way back into the council of ministers from which he was forced to step down in April.
The clean chit or B report citing lack of evidence from the Udupi district police on Wednesday came three months after Patil was found dead in a hotel in the coastal district on April 11. In his “death note” on WhatsApp, which Patil sent to his family, friends and a section of the media, he alleged that he was being harassed by rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) minister Eshwarappa for a bribe (“commission”) to release payments for works done in Belagavi last February.
Patil’s wife and family have alleged foul play on the part of Eshwarappa and the Bommai government, accusing them of trying to “save” the leader. That Patil was a BJP worker, who was wronged, has also fueled a fair bit of anger in the grassroots who feel cheated by their own government.
The case added to growing allegations of graft against the Bommai-led BJP government and sparked backlash from contractors in the state that spoke of widespread corruption, particularly “commissions” as high as 40% to the award of public works and the release of payments.
Bommai has faced allegations of graft against himself as well as other members of his government.
In March last year, then water resources minister Ramesh Jarkiholi was forced to step down from the cabinet after a woman accused him in a “sex-for-job” scandal and released videos of the former in a compromising position which the TV news media played on loop. Jarkiholi was given a clean chit in February but has still not been able to make it back into the cabinet.
“It is very unlikely that there will be any additions to the cabinet,” said a three-time BJP legislator, requesting anonymity.
Bommai on Wednesday said he will be visiting Delhi on July 25 and 26 but would discuss the cabinet expansion “if the party top leadership raises the issue”.
There are five vacant berths in Bommai’s cabinet that can accommodate a total of 34 members. People aware of the developments said that the cabinet expansion is likely to fuel the growing divide within the Bommai government and would be best if the same remains vacant as elections will be held next year.
