BJP demands minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s resignation

Mangaluru: BJP leaders have called for the immediate resignation of Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar following the death of Rudranna Yadavannavar in Belagavi.

“Yet another tragic suicide of a govt servant under Congress rule: FDC Rudranna Yadavanna took his life at the Belagavi Tehsildar office, naming Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar's PA for harassment and pressure in his death note. The PA must be arrested, and the minister must resign!!,” Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje posted on X.

Rudranna is said to have sent a message in a WhatsApp group on Monday night, naming three individuals as responsible for his death. Among the names mentioned were the Tahsildar and another is said to be an aide of Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka also criticized the Congress government and demanded the resignation of Laxmi Hebbalkar.

“Whenever you (Siddaramaiah) become Chief Minister or whenever the Congress party comes to power, harassment and suicides among honest officers seem inevitable. The suicide case of SDA Rudranna in Belagavi marks the fourth such incident in the past 17 months, highlighting the extreme levels of corruption within the Congress government,” he posted on X.

Listing some of the earlier incidents, Ashoka said “In Shivamogga, Valmiki Corporation officer Chandrashekhar committed suicide; in Davanagere, distressed by the corruption in the Rural Development Department contractor PC Gowda took his life and unable to bear the pressure and harassment from transfer rackets PSI Parashuram from Yadgir succumbed to a heart attack. Now SDA Rudranna in Belagavi has died by suicide.”

He alleged that it is suspected that the transfer racket orchestrated by Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar is responsible for this suicide.

“I demand that Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar be immediately removed from the cabinet and that the case be handed over to the CBI for investigation," he added.