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"Several murders happened during the Congress regime, they had withdrawn cases against organisations involved in such murders.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."
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
