Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa (Photo | EPS)
BENGALURU: Sulking former minister KS Eshwarappa on Tuesday expressed serious displeasure over not being reinstated into the cabinet, saying he has been denied a cabinet berth despite being cleared of all charges four months ago in a case of abetting the suicide of a contractor.
The police were probing the then minister as the contractor, Santosh Patil, mentioned in his suicide note that Eshwarappa and his men were harassing him to pay commission for the works executed.
Stating that former Congress minister KJ George, who had resigned after the suicide of DCP MK Ganapathi and was reinducted when cleared of charges, Eshwarappa urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that he too should be made a minister.
But sources said that Santosh Patil’s wife has filed a case before a court questioning the clean chit to Eshwarappa and it is still pending.
Eshwarappa said that over the last four months, he has spoken to Bommai and the CM assured him that the issue would be taken up with the central leadership. Bommai said he has been in touch with Eshwarappa and Ramesh Jarkiholi, who too resigned as a minister after an alleged sex tape surfaced. Both Eshwarappa and Jarkiholi have chosen to stay away from the Belagavi session. Eshwarappa on Tuesday, said he will visit Tirupati, return on Wednesday and start attending the session.
