New Delhi: Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa to resign from his post on Friday. Eshwarappa, whose name appeared in the alleged suicide case of contractor Santosh Patil, said that he will hand over his resignation to the Chief Minister on Friday.
"Tomorrow I'm handing over the resignation letter to CM. I thank you all for co-operation," news agency ANI said, quoting Minister Eshwarappa.
Also read | Contractor's Death: Decision On Eshwarappa's Resignation After Preliminary Report, Says Karnataka CM Bommai
Responding to the Opposition's demands, Eshwarappa denied resigning from his post on Tuesday. Hindu Vahini national secretary and contractor Santosh Patil was found dead in a hotel room in Karnataka's Udupi. Congress has been demanding the arrest of Minister KS Eshwarappa, targeting the ruling BJP government in Karnataka.
Pressure mounted upon the BJP government as Karnataka Congress leaders took out a rally towards CM Bommai's residence in view of their demand for Karnataka Minister Eshwarappa's resignation in connection with Patil's alleged suicide. The leaders including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar, and former CM Siddaramaiah were detained and they continued their protest by staging a sit-in near Vidhana Soudha.
Responding to the protests, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the decision on Eshwarappa's resignation would be made only after a preliminary report is obtained from the police. "The call on asking for resignation from Eshwarappa will be taken once I get the preliminary investigation report," the CM said.
Speaking to reporters, Bommai said the post-mortem has been conducted on Wednesday. "The case will be investigated thoroughly and the truth will come out. The party high command has taken all information regarding the issue. However, there will be no further role of the high command over the issue. They will not interfere. I will focus on the course of the investigation," he said.
Also read | Karnataka Congress Leaders Take Out Rally Demanding Minister Eshwarappa's Resignation, Detained - Watch
Santosh Patil, the contractor who accused Eshwarappa of corruption and fraud died by suicide on Tuesday in Udupi. Patil who was the national secretary of the Hindu Yuva Vahini has blamed the minister as the sole reason for him taking this extreme step, as confirmed by ABP News sources.
The deceased Santhosh had earlier written letters to the top central BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 40 per cent commission demand by Minister Eshwarappa.