In a big development in Karnataka politics, State Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj KS Eshwarappa announced his resignation from office on Thursday, 14 April, after allegations of corruption and his alleged role in the suicide of a contractor surfaced.
The news of Eshwarappa’s resignation is huge given that it was not expected in the days after the allegations surfaced. Eshwarappa too had been defiant on the issue and even previously stated to media that there is “no question” of him resigning as a minister.
His resignation comes on the heels of the death of Santosh Patil, a contractor involved in various government projects. Patil was found dead in a hotel in Udupi on 12 April. In the final message that he purportedly sent to his friends, he named Eshwarappa as "solely responsible" for his death.