The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge to resign following the suicide of a civil contractor from Bidar district on December 26. BJP leader B Y Vijayendra claimed that the police are influenced by the powerful Kharge family and cannot conduct a fair investigation into the case.
Vijayendra demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ask Priyank Kharge to step down and that the investigation be handed over to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). He threatened that if these demands were not met by January 3, the BJP would protest near the home of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
In the contractor’s suicide note, he claimed that a close aide of Priyank Kharge, named Raju Kapanur, threatened him over a demand for ₹1 crore. Kapanur denied these accusations. The note also mentioned a “plot” to harm several local leaders, which the BJP says involved contract killers from Maharashtra.
Vijayendra also demanded that the state government provide support for the deceased’s family and a job for one of them.
Priyank Kharge, the Minister for Rural Development, denied any link to the case and stated that his name was not in the suicide note. He has called for an investigation to uncover the truth. He was supported by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who emphasized Kharge’s integrity and stated that the investigation is ongoing.
The Karnataka government has decided to transfer the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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