Embattled Eshwarappa finds himself alone in party

Shivamogga: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S.Eshwarappa who is caught in a controversy over the suicide of a civil contractor has ruled out his resignation from the State cabinet. He also suspects that a deep-rooted conspiracy has been unleashed by his political opponents. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, he stopped short of naming some people within his own party and from the Congress and JDS behind it.

In a day full of heavy political developments in the State woven around this issue, Eshwarappafound himself isolated in his own party and the State cabinet as uncertainty loomed larger over his continuance as minister. His close confidantes in the cabinet - Health Minister K Sudhakar and MLAsBasanagouda Patil Yathnal and Renukacharya - distanced themselves from him. Former chief minister and Eshwarappa's long-standing colleague and friend BS Yeddyurappa wore a dignified silence over the matter.

Eshwarappa had announced that he would resign at a press conferenceat 1 pm in Mysuru. He later left for Shivmogga. But upon reaching Shivmogga, he had changed his mind and said he would not resign. "I smell a big and deep-rooted conspiracy to politically finish me off. I will dwell deep into this conspiracy and tell the party leadership in State and Delhi. I will be meeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in a day or two and apprise him of the developments"

People in his close circles told Hans News Service that it was true that he had decided to resign but some developments had taken during the three-hour drive from Mysuru to Shivamogga on Wednesday that prompted him to change his mind. In the background, internal sleuths in the party and officials in the government were trying to establish that there was never a death note written by the civil contractor Santhosh Patil who was also an upcoming leader in the party in Belagavi district. The RDPR department issued on 23 March also stated that there were never 108 different civil works assigned to Santhosh Patil nor to any other civil contractor as per the records of the department. No tender was floated and no clearances given so far, hence there was no corruption of any kind.

He challenged Congress leaders S Siddaramiah and DK Shivakumar to show any document prepared by the RDPR department to prove that the work was assigned to Santhosh Patil legally or illegally, Prima facie there were no proposals in the department to get 108 different civil works done in Hindalga in Belagavi district, Eshwarappa added.