Will become Minister once again, after coming out clear as innocent: Eshwarappa before resigning
Shivamogga(PTI): Ahead of his resignation, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa on Friday told his supporters and party workers that he will come out clear as innocent from the allegations made against him as part of a conspiracy and will certainly become a minister once again.
Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, will be submitting his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai later Friday evening.
"An allegation is being made against me, should I come clear out of it or not?...for me to come clear as innocent, if I continue as Minister when investigation is on, there will be a feeling that I may influence the investigation. So I'm resigning as Minister...I'm telling you that I will come out innocent and will certainly become Minister once again," Eshwarappa said.
He told this to supporters and party workers here, who were shouting slogans asking him not to resign, before leaving for Bengaluru. As a political furore erupted, Eshwarappa had on Thursday evening announced his resignation as Minister.
Stating that party workers are pained and some were even crying asking him not to resign, later speaking to reporters he said, he has told them very clearly that this is a "agni pareekshe" (trial by fire), an allegation has been made against him, and that several people have conspired against him.
"When I asked them whether I should come out clear from all the allegations or not, they said, I should come out clear...I'm completely confident. From the blessings of our karyakartas (workers), seniors and several swamijis, who have called me. I will come clear out of the conspiracy against me," he said, adding that he is submitting resignation to Chief Minister Bommai this evening.
Eshwarappa further said he is emotional after getting support and love from leaders like B S Yediyurappa, CM Bommai, Ministers, legislators, and karyakartas.
"I'm confident that I will get justice against the conspirators' allegations, from the love and affection of all these people," he added.
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 Eshwarappa for his death.
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CBI Director Praveen Sood gets one year's extension
New Delhi, May 7 (PTI): The Centre on Wednesday extended the tenure of CBI Director Praveen Sood by one year.
Sood took over as the CBI director on May 25, 2023 for a two-year term.
The decision to extend his tenure was taken in a meeting of the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday, officials said.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), based on the recommendations of the selection committee, approved Sood's extension for a period of one year beyond May 24.
Sood is a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Karnataka cadre. He was working as Karnataka's director general of police (DGP) when he was named as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Born in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district in 1964, Sood joined the IPS at the age of 22 years after completing his civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
He also holds a post-graduation degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru and the Maxwell School of Governance, Syracuse University in New York.
Sood, known for his hands-on approach, had supervised investigation of high profile cases involving high net-worth individuals and matters having inter-state and international ramifications.
The tech-savvy officer had worked for the strengthening of the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) and the ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System) in Karnataka along with the judiciary.
