Bengaluru (Karnataka): State Contractors' Association in Karnataka has decided not to take any government contracts for a month beginning May 25 as a mark of protest against the case involving the suicide of their fellow Belagavi-based contractor and BJP worker Santosh K Patil.
Santosh had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that state minister K.S Eshwarappa and his associates were harassing him to give 40 per cent commission to clear bills for the civil work that he carried out on the Minister’s verbal instructions. He committed suicide on Tuesday after allegedly sending a death note through WhatsApp to media personnel.
In a press conference held on Wednesday, Kempanna, president of the State Contractors' Association, said there were serious allegations of corruption in the health and irrigation departments of Karnataka. "Work will be shut down for a month from May 25," Kempanna said. He also demanded that Santosh's suicide case be investigated by CBI with a High Court judge overseeing the probe.
"Rs 2 crore compensation has to be given to the family of the deceased contractor. The contract amount should be released immediately. The government is directly responsible for his death. The government should provide relief rather than a consolation to the family. The cause of his death is clearly mentioned in the suicide note. The minister asked for 40 per cent of the commission which is why Santosh went to Delhi and even complained to Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. During that time, if there had been a response, his life would have been saved," he added.
The head of the contractors' association slammed Karnataka CM for his silence on corruption. "The government had threatened Santosh through rowdies," he alleged. "We have records related to corruption. We are afraid to release the records. We have murder threats. We'll release the record at the right time," he said. Kempanna said they had complained to CM Basavaraj Bommai four times but to no avail. "This government is indeed a 40 per cent commission government," he said.
"Minister Eshwarappa had given verbal orders to Santosh Patil to undertake 108 works," said Hindalaga gram panchayat (Belagavi District) president Nagesh Mannolkar. On the verbal orders of Eshwarappa, Santosh had completed 108 works at Hindalaga village worth Rs 4 crore, he said. "It is true that Santosh met Eshwarappa before the work started. Along with him, I also went to Bangalore twice and met Eshwarappa. Swamiji from Bailahongala also came with us. Last year, the Lakshmi Devi fair was held in Hindalaga village after around 100 years. After the fair, we met the minister for road development and he told us 'you start the work'," Mannolkar said.
Eshwarappa, the Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, along with two of his associates, were booked by the Karnataka Police under IPC Sections 34 and 306 in connection with the suicide case. Caught in the eye of the storm, Eshwarappa, on Wednesday said that he will not resign from his post even as he questioned Santosh's suicide note in which the latter had accused him.
