Members of the Congress and Aam Admi Party took out protest rallies condemning the death of Santosh Patil, contractor and BJP leader, who had accused RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa of corruption.
Congress members organised a protest against the State Government here on Tuesday, holding Mr. Eshwarappa responsible for the death of Santosh Patil.
A group of Congress activists broke the police barricades put up at one end of the main road and began walking towards the private hotel in which senior BJP leaders had huddled up for a meeting.
They wore black badges and raised slogans against the BJP, the State government, and Mr. Eshwarappa. Laxmi Hebbalkar, MLA, Channaraj Hattiholi, MLC, and Raju Sait, led the protest.
Ms. Hebbalkar and others walked to the hotel and found that the police had locked the gates. She argued with the police officers and asked them whether Karnataka was a democracy or dictatorship. The protesters raised slogans against the police and tried unsuccessfully to force open the gates. Then the MLA sat before the gates and asked her supporters to sit down too. “We will sit here. Let the leaders remain inside. We will not let them go out,’’ she said.
“I am not here to play party politics. I am here because, Santosh Patil, the unfortunate young man was from my constituency,’’ she said. I am here to demand justice for him and his family. Mr. Eshwarappa should be arrested and Santosh Patil’s widow should be compensated, she said.
The widow has a one-year-old child and she has to repay huge debt. She will be driven to the streets, if she does not get support, Ms. Hebbalkar said.
She criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he had come to power promising “Na khaoonga, na khane doonga’’, but he ended up protecting the corrupt. We are protesting against two issues here. The death of Santosh Patil and the serious allegations of 40% commission in Government contracts, the MLA said. She claimed that the BJP Government was anti-development, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-women.
Rajkumar Topannanavar, AAP leader, said he would continue to protest till justice was served. “Santosh Patil was my friend. He innocently believed in the Minister’s assurance that he would get the bills cleared after the work was done. He spent his own money of up to ₹4 crore and laid roads in his village to prepare for the village jatra. But when he went to Mr. Eshwarappa seeking settling of bills, he was asked a kickback of 40%. Santosh Patil was new to the field of civil contract and had taken loans to arrange the money. How could he pay such a heavy bribe?” he asked. Mr. Topannanavar said Mr. Eshwarappa and other leaders harassed Santosh Patil by lodging a defamation case against him.
