As the controversy over the death of a contractor and BJP worker escalated, Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister and senior BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa on Thursday announced his decision to step down from the Cabinet. He will tender his resignation on Friday to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Mr. Eshwarappa was on Wednesday charged with abetment of suicide of Santosh K. Patil — a contractor who had accused him of corruption — at a lodge in Udupi. Hours after the FIR was filed, the Minister had struck a defiant note and said there was no question of his quitting and that he was the victim of a conspiracy.
