No action against Minister Eshwarappa until preliminary inquiry is completed: CM Bommai
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday ruled out any action against Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, until preliminary inquiry is completed.
He said Santosh Patil's suicide case will be thoroughly investigated and the truth will come out, and only based on the preliminary inquiry the government will decide on taking action against Eshwarappa.
"There is no interference of (BJP) high command on this issue, they have only obtained information, they don't have any role in it. As I have said first time itself, action will be taken based on the preliminary inquiry, let the preliminary inquiry happen," Bommai said in response to a question regarding the BJP high command's decision on Eshwarappa's future as Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Post-mortem has happened only late last night, investigation will begin now on. Based on the outcome of the investigation, we will decide. In my first day first reaction itself I have said that without preliminary inquiry there will be no action (against Eshwarappa)."
Asked whether the case will be handed over to any other agency for probe, the Chief Minister said, "preliminary investigation is going on (from police), let's see based on it, what will happen."
Resisting pressure on him to step down, Eshwarappa on Wednesday had maintained that he will not quit.
Santosh Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor was found dead in an Udupi hotel 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 has blamed Eshwarappa for his death. Based on a complaint filed by Patil's relative, Udupi town police have booked Eshwarappa for abetting the suicide.
Responding to Congress leaders planning to gherao him over corruption charges against the government and demanding Eshwarappa's removal, Bommai said that the principal opposition party doesn't have any moral rights, as he also accused them of playing politics on the issue.
"Several murders happened during the Congress regime, they had withdrawn cases against organisations involved in such murders. As there was anarchy in the state, people rejected them. They don't have any moral rights. They are doing it for political gains," he said.
Reacting to Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah's allegation about corruption in the CM's office and some Ministers, Bommai said, there is no need to respond to such baseless allegations.
"Let them share if they have any evidence, we will get it investigated.....When Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister there were several cases and allegations of corruption, there was a big scam in BDA (Bengaluru Development Authority). What rights does he have? He is in a responsible position, if he shares information on a specific cases, we will get it investigated or responded to."
The Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) has threatened that its members will stop civil works for a month starting from May 25 to protest against corruption in various government departments.
Replying to a question on this, Bommai said, "There are several contractors associations ...I don't know what they will decide. Tell them (association) to share if they have any specific information or evidence. You (media) have to question them and ask them how many times they will make such vague allegations. If they share specific cases I will definitely get them investigated."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
