Why Santosh Patil committed suicide in Udupi?: CT Ravi raises question over contractor's suicide
Vijayapura: Raising doubts over the alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil which led to the resignation K. S. Eshwarappa from his Ministry, BJP National General Secretary, C. T. Ravi on Friday questioned why the contractor chose to committee suicide only in Udupi and not any other place?
“I have serious doubt over the whole incident. Firstly, there is no answer to the question as to why he committed suicide in Udupi only. Secondly, whether the death note forwarded on WhatsApp was typed by Santosh himself before the death or somebody else did that on his behalf after his death. Thirdly, why did he choose to stay in a separate room in the hotel while all of his friends stayed together”, he asked.
Ravi however said that only the autopsy report will give answers to all these questions.
Asked whether he will seek a CBI probe, he said that since there is no demand for it either from the family of the deceased or from the general public, thus, I do not think that a CBI probe is needed. However he said that based on the situation, the CM will take appropriate decisions.
On the resignation of K. S. Eshwarappa from the Ministry, Ravi said that he welcomed the decision stating that the former took the decision on moral grounds and not because the opposition was demanding.
On the allegations of the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association that they have been demanded 40% commission by the government officials and the elected representatives, Ravi refuted all the allegations.
On the contrary he doubted that someone else is instigating the state president of the association to make allegations against the government.
Admitting that corruption exists in the system, he however blamed the Congress for nurturing corruption and making it a huge problem.
Claiming that the BJP is a secular party which never does politics on communal grounds, Ravi said that it is Congress that has been doing appeasement politics for the vote of Muslims.
Addressing media persons on Friday, he said the Congress has been doing only appeasement politics which its projects as secularism.
“It is time we should change the definition of secularism and communalism. The Congress projects appeasement as secularism and the BJP which believes in religious equality, projects as communalism. What kind of justice is it? If the Congress stands for Hijab then it is a secular party, but when the BJP stands for uniformity in schools, then the Congress calls it communalism. This is not acceptable at all”, he said.
“When Harsha and Chandru were killed, the Congress stayed quiet but when some watermelons of Muslim vendors were destroyed, the Congress started feeling pain for people. This is nothing but selective politics”, he said.
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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.
