Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today made it clear that minister KS Eshwarappa, caught in a controversy over his alleged role in the suicide of a contractor, will remain in his cabinet, for now. "The postmortem is done. Let the preliminary inquiry begin. Depending on the preliminary we will decide the next course of action," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Mr Eshwarappa, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister in Mr Bommai's cabinet, has been accused of corruption by civil contractor Santhosh Patil, who allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday.
The minister's name came up in the last phone messages of the contractor, who accused him of being "solely responsible" for his death. Mr Bommai, he alleged, had demanded a "40 per cent cut money" to clear a Rs 4 crore bill for work he had done for the Rural Development department.
There have been growing calls for Mr Eshwarappa's resignation from the opposition Congress, which has accused the BJP and Mr Bommai's government of shielding the minister.
Asked if there is there was pressure from the high command -- which is reportedly inclined to the dismissal of Mr Eashwarappa -- Mr Bommai told NDTV, "I am not under any pressure. There is nothing to do with the high command. It is all purely depending on preliminary investigation decision will be taken".
Asked if having Mr Eshwarappa in the cabinet will leave room for a fair probe, the Chief Minister said, "What you think or I think is not important. What is the fact of the case is important".
Mr Eshwarappa has refused to step down. "If they are asking for my resignation, I won't give one," he told reporters earlier this week. Releasing a department letter of March 28,that maintained that no work order was issued, Mr Eshwarappa said, "There was no work order, thus no question of cut money. (Santhosh) Patil wanted payment without norms - how can payment be released without work order?"
The contractor's allegations have unleashed a huge political storm in the state, pushing the ruling BJP to the backfoot. The contractor had reportedly sent his cut money allegations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him and the Chief Minister to take care of his wife and child.
State Congress leader DK Shivakumar alleged that Santhosh Patil's death was "murder, not suicide" and demanded that Mr Eshwarappa be arrested.