Karnataka minister Eshwarappa doubts Santosh's suicide note, says 'will never resign'

Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, K.S. Eshwarappa, on Wednesday said that he will not resign from his post. Eshwarappa said that he had been getting calls from many people since yesterday, asking him not to resign.

Shivamogga: Caught in the eye of the storm, Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, K.S. Eshwarappa, on Wednesday said that he will not resign from his post even as he questioned the suicide note of the BJP worker and contractor in which the latter had accused him. Eshwarappa, along with two of his associates, were booked by the Karnataka Police under IPC Sections 34 and 306 in connection with the suicide case of the contractor and BJP worker Santosh K Patil.

Eshwarappa said that he had been getting calls from many people since Tuesday asking him not to resign. "I will not resign on someone's insistence. The opposition parties are blaming me unnecessarily. There was a strategy behind this case," he told the media on Wednesday. Speaking at a conference in Shivamogga, the minister alleged that many opposition leaders, including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, were "spreading fake news" about the case and in particular about a "death note" written by the deceased. He called for an investigation into the alleged "death note" as well.

"The reason why Santosh committed suicide should be investigated. WhatsApp text cannot be a death note. So let's investigate Santosh's death note. Why should I resign? Let the opposition say that too. There is a heinous act of dragging my name in this case. I won't mention anyone's name at present. Let one hundred such cases come up. I will face it. I don't run anywhere. Let there be a thorough investigation. I'm ready for an investigation. I will not resign," Eshwarappa said.

Questioning the allegations against him, Eshwarappa said, "In our department, there are certain rules that must be followed to do any work. The practice of releasing funds is only after the completion of government regulations. Without following, any form of law we cannot release money." Santosh K. Patil, a Belgavi-based contractor, recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that Minister Eshwarappa and his associates were harassing him to give 40 per cent commission to clear bills for the civil work that he carried out on the Minister’s instructions. Patil committed suicide on Tuesday after allegedly sending a death note through WhatsApp to media personnel.