From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Batting strongly in favour Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa, who is accused by the Belagavi Contractor Santhosh Patil of demanding 40% commission in his suicide note, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday argued that there was no need for Eshwarappa to resign and warned that ruling BJP will not cow down for the smear campaign by Congress party.

Speaking to media persons in Chikkaballapur, the minister alleged that the Opposition Congress party was using State Contractors Association President Kempanna as a pawn in their political games demanding dismissal of Eshwarappa and also tarnish the clean image of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommi government.

“The Congress party is the fountainhead of corruption,’’ he said and made it clear that the ruling BJP would not bother about the character assassination by the Congress party.

Blacklist Kempanna

Dr Sudhakar accused the Congress party of using Kempanna as a tool and urged the Chief Minister to blacklist the State Contractors Association President Kempanna and also lodge a defamation case against him.

The minister said the government and the ruling party is “sad at the death of the contractor’’ and attacked the Congress party for politicising the suicide issue and using it as a weapon to tarnish the image of Eshwarappa and the Bommai government.

“While the ruling party and the government wants to know why the suicide happened, it is not correct to demand the resignation of the minister without a comprehensive. There is no need to attribute political motives in the suicide,’’ he said declared that everybody know that Congressmen are not the embodiment of honesty.

He said the government and BJP can also disclose facts and figures about the scams in different departments during the Congress rule.

Dr Sudhakar went on to assert “it is not possible to give credence to an anonymous letter or baseless allegations by a persons.’’

He claimed that the Bommai government was functioning in the most transparent manner.

Praises to Modi

Dr Sudhakar also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that the Modi government has set a model by providing corruption free administration. The Modi government has demonstrated how the elected representatives must function.

At the same time, the minister said: ``I am not saying that there is no corruption at all. But the corruption did not originate after this government came to power. It is the duty and responsibility of all political parties to discuss on eradicating corruption. Controlling and eliminating corruption is a big challenge.’’

Answering questions on the resignation of former Congress Home Minister KJ George when DySP Ganapathy had accused in a media interview and was reinstated after the CBI inquiry gave a clean chit, Dr Sudhakar argued that Ganapathy incident and the suicide of contractor Santhosh Patil are totally different.

“Let there be thorough investigation and truth come out. The Chief Minister has already stated that police have been given a free hand to conduct a probe. Nobody knows the author of the Whatsapp message and whether the contractor himself has sent the message. Let the issue be investigated,’’ he said accusing Congress party of deliberately targeting Eshwarappa and demanding his dismissal.

The minister contended that the State Contractors Association President Kempanna was holding a responsible position and must produce documentary evidence before levelling serious allegations against the minister.

He urged the Chief Minister to blacklist Kempanna and declared that a defamation case would also be filed against him. "It is shameful that the Congress party is using such a person as a tool for its political designs,’’ he said.

Dr Sudhakar also urged the Chief Minister to order inquiry in the corruption cases against each of the Congress ministers and even file chargesheets and pointed out that the latest incident has tarnished the image of the government.