Congress party is not blaming, contractor has accused: Mallikarjun Kharge on corruption charges against K'taka minister KS Eshwarappa

Amid controversy errupted in Karnataka over BJP activist and contractor's suicide involving minister KS Eshwarappa, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that his party is not blaming anyone and that the contractor has alleged about Eshwarappa's involvement in his death.

Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Contractor Santosh Patil has accused top ministers of demanding money. He wrote all this, Congress party is not blaming them."

"They have already been accused several times. If they are not taking any action, it is not fair," the minister said.

While, BJP National General Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam today assured that if the allegations against KS Eshwarappa are true, then the party will take necessary action against him.

An FIR has also been registered against Karnataka minister Eshwarappa in this case.

Congress is also demanding the dismissal of the minister in this matter.

Notably, the Congress delegation has also met the Governor of Karnataka in this matter and is continuously demanding action against Eshwarappa.

Earlier, Eshwarappa made it clear that he would not resign under pressure from the opposition. The minister defended himself by saying that "no death note was found near the body". Any relationship with the contractor is denied, he added.

He said, "I have not seen the face of Santosh Patil, but as journalists are saying that he used to go to Delhi often. It should be investigated who booked his flight tickets and why." Earlier today, Congress leaders DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, and others were detained as the police stopped them from marching toward Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's residence to demand Minister KS Eshwarappas's resignation in connection with contractor Santosh Patil's death.

Meanwhile, the brother of the deceased contractor on Wednesday demanded the arrest of Eshwarappa and his close aides Ramesh and Basawaraj.

Speaking to the reporters here, Prashant Patil (brother of the deceased) had said, "Minister KS Eshwarappa, Basawaraj and Ramesh (Eshwarappa's close aides) must be arrested. We want justice."

Published on: Thursday, April 14, 2022, 05:13 PM IST