BJP leaders staged protests in Bengaluru on Saturday calling for the resignation of Karnataka Minister KJ George.
This comes following a Supreme Court order which directed a CBI probe into the alleged suicide of Dy SP MK Ganapathy, who had named the minister and some senior IPS officers for allegedly harassing him.
On September 5, the Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe into the death of MK Ganapathy, saying that the facts in the case were “startling” and merited a fair investigation.
Several party leaders and members led by state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa assembled at the Mourya Circle demanding that George step down from his post, as they feel that he could influence the probe.
KE Eshwarappa was among the party leaders who took part in the protest besides Lok Sabha members Shobha Karandlaje, B Sriramulu and Pratap Simha.
The party had earlier said that the state would witness protests on September 16 in every district over the issue.
“The Supreme Court has set a three-month deadline for the probe. Mr George must resign and we have no objection if he rejoins the Cabinet if he is given clean chit,” BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa had said on September 11.
“Our party will hold a dharna on September 16 in Bengaluru and all district centres to demand this,” the former CM added.
George had earlier resigned from his position, and was later re-inducted in the ministry after a CID enquiry found no evidence of his role in the death.
In a TV interview, Ganapathy had said that Minister George and two of his seniors, AM Prasad and Pranab Mohanty, had been harassing him. He had also said the trio would be responsible "if anything happens to me".
On July 7, 2016, Ganapathy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a hotel room at Madikeri.