Top BJP leader and Karnataka minister KS Eshwarappa is likely to submit his resignation on Friday (April 15) evening amid a huge show of strength.
Eshwarappa was under pressure to resign ever since has he was named by a contractor in his suicide note. The BJP leader urged his followers to stay calm because he “will be back”. On way to submit his resignation letter in Bengaluru, Eshwarappa is accompanied by a convoy of cars in what is looked upon as a show of strength.
Eshwarappa told his supporters that he is putting in his papers because he doesn’t want to cause any trouble for his party leaders and well-wishers. “I am submitting my resignation to the Chief Minister. I will definitely come out clean,” he told media persons.
Meanwhile, in Shivamogga, Eshwarappa’s constituency, BJP supporters demonstrated against “those” who forced their leader to resign.
Also read: Eshwarappa: Hardline BJP leader with a penchant for controversies
Eshwarappa also responded to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge’s charge of corruption. “Why doesn’t he (Kharge) name even one of the people behind this scandal?”
Santosh Patil, a BJP worker from Belagavi in northern Karnataka, was found dead in his room recently. Apparently, he had sent a WhatsApp message to friends blaming minister Eshwarappa for ending his life.
While the opposition demanded Eshwarappa’s resignation, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association — which last year had complained that “commissions” up to 40 percent were being charged for work tenders —stepped up pressure on the state government, threatening to go on a month-long strike if action was not taken against the guilty.