NEW DELHI: Stepping up the ante against the BJP over the death of a civil contractor in Karnataka, the Congress on Wednesday said arresting minister K S Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to ensure justice.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP president J P Nadda on the death of Santhosh Patil who had levelled bribery charges against the senior minister earlier.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Eshwarappa has been booked for abetment of suicide based on a complaint from Prashanth Patil, the brother of the deceased.
The 37-year-old contractor, who claimed to be a BJP worker, was found dead at a lodge in Udupi in a case of suspected suicide on Tuesday.
"Arresting Minister Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to give justice to a BJP worker," Surjewala said.
"Why is PM silent? Why is CM mum? Why is BJP president quiet? The deafening silence of BJP points to complicity in corruption at the highest echelons of power," the Congress leader said on Twitter. He also alleged that the BJP is mired in corruption in Karnataka and it is time to show them the door.
"Top to bottom, the entire BJP Govt is mired in the muck of corruption. Time to show BJP the door in Karnataka," Surjewala said, after the president of contractors' association in Karnataka alleged that the chief minister's office was involved in the matter.
Surjewala also met the family of the deceased contractor in Belgaum and assured that the party would fight to ensure justice to them. He was accompanied by several state Congress leaders.
"The pain, anguish and anger of family cannot be described in words. The Congress will fight for justice to Santosh Patil. Our demands are arrest Eshwarappa, add section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the FIR, release Rs 4 crore payment for contract and Rs 1 crore compensation to the family and a government job for his wife. The Congress will give Rs 11 lakh assistance to the family in this hour of grief," he said.
The death of the contractor triggered a huge political row with the Congress demanding the resignation of Eshwarappa or his dismissal from the Cabinet.
The Congress also urged state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss Eshwarappa from the Council of Ministers, even as the embattled BJP leader called for a probe into the "conspiracy" behind the death of Patil.
While Chief Minister Bommai said the police would conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, Eshwarappa rejected the demand for his resignation.
In his purported suicide note sent by WhatsApp to some media houses, Patil, who hails from Belagavi district, allegedly held Eshwarappa responsible for his death.
A defiant Eshwarappa, however, maintained he was not at fault and said he had even filed a defamation suit against Patil after the contractor had alleged that the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Minister had demanded 40 per cent commission for some works.
On March 30, Patil, who had claimed that he was a BJP worker, said he had executed a work in the RDPR department and wanted the payment due to him but Eshwarappa allegedly demanded 40 per cent commission in the Rs 4 crore work, prompting the opposition Congress to dub the BJP dispensation in Karnataka as a "40 per cent sarkar".