One of the loudest allegations of the BJP against the Congress-led UPA-2 was large scale corruption. And in 2014 the BJP won the elections on the plank of cleansing the country of corruption. But what happened in Karnakata two days ago where a contractor took his own life after being allegedly harassed by the Karnakata Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa who demanded a cut out of a project that was yet to take off. Eshwarappa has stepped down after an FIR was lodged naming him as the prime accused. There were others mentioned in the suicide note of Santhosh Patil the contractor. In the suicide note Patil alleged that Eshwarappa demanded 40% commission. When Patil couldn’t fulfil the demand, he was harassed to the point where he finally succumbed to the pressure. Patil’s family members corroborate that it was Eshwarappa who drove Patil to suicide. In the FIR filed by family members, Eshwarappa has been named as accused no 1.
There were others mentioned in the FIR. They include Eshwarappa’s lackeys. On Thursday, the BJP did damage control and made Eshwarappa resign. After the hijab row, this is another rumpus that has hit the headlines in Karnataka. What is worse in this case is that Santhosh Patil was also an upcoming leader of the BJP in Belagavi district. Interestingly, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Department clarified that that neither Santhosh Patil nor any other contractor was assigned 108 different civil works; that no tenders were floated and no clearances given as yet hence the charges of 40% bribe money being demanded is propaganda. Now the Opposition Congress is going for the kill. It’s an opportunity they won’t let go to tarnish the Bommai Government and by default the central government too.
The BJP had often raised the slogan, “zero tolerance for crime” which also implies zero tolerance for criminals. But electoral politics is wired differently. It would be intuitive to believe that Eshwarappa was elected despite his failings just as so many people with criminal records continue to populate our state assemblies and parliament. It’s easy for a Party that is not in government to preach against corruption but once that party is in power things begin to look different. What was not tolerated as an opposition party is par for the course once the same opposition is in the seat of power. These are the realities of electoral politics. Hence instead of arresting Eshwarappa for abetment of suicide the BJP put pressure on him to resign to save its image. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken the oath of office with the words ‘Na Khaoonga, Na Khaane Doonga.’ Does he still remember this oath today and strictly implement that in BJP-ruled states?
