BJP is with Eshwarappa, he is framed to an extent: Arun Singh
Hospet, Apr 16: BJP national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh on Saturday said the party is with its senior leader K S Eshwarappa, who resigned as minister following allegations of abetting the suicide of a civil contractor, and expressed confidence that he will come clean after inquiry and "will be back".
He also expressed confidence of BJP winning more than 150 seats in Karnataka, during the 2023 assembly polls.
Singh was speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of the two-day BJP state executive meeting here today and tomorrow, which is scheduled to be attended by BJP national president J P Nadda on Sunday.
"Eshwarappa is a very senior leader of the party and he has worked towards the party's position today. We are fully confident that after the complete inquiry, Eshwarappa will be cleared of all charges and will be back," he said, in response to a question on the future role for Eshwarappa in the party.
Singh said to an extent, Eshwarappa is framed as there are various angles to the case, and it is not simple.
"We have to look from all angles. The role of the Congress also needs to be looked into. Congress is a party of conspiracy. Inquiry is going on, let us wait for that. Eshwarappa is our leader...we are all with Eshwarappa, all workers are with him," he added.
Eshwarappa had resigned as Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) on Friday, following allegations of abetting the suicide of a civil contractor.
Santosh Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor, was found dead at a hotel in Udupi on Tuesday, weeks after accusing Eshwarappa, who is also a senior BJP leader, of corruption. In a purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil had blamed the BJP leader for his death.
Eshwarappa is not attending the BJP state executive meeting in Hospet, citing personal reasons.
Stating that there is already infighting in the Congress between its legislative party leader Siddaramaiah and state president D K Shivakumar for the CM post, Singh said the people of the country and the state have lost faith in the grand old party and despite all efforts will not be able to win.
Congress is a party of "confusion, conspiracy", he said.
The saffron party's national general secretary also praised Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, calling him a "common man and simple man".
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
