Karnataka - Bangalore

Congress demands Asnotikar’s dismissal

Bangalore: In a serious setback to the fledgling Bharatiya Janata Party Government, several senior Congress leaders on Friday demanded the dismissal of Fisheries and Science and Technology Minister Anand Asnotikar for his alleged involvement in the murder of Dileep Arjun Naik in Karwar four years ago.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council V.S. Ugrappa demanded that the case be entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation, as the State police had failed to make progress in the case for over four years.

The Government had deliberately delayed the investigation, even though the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Karwar, had obtained permission from the jurisdictional court, he told presspersons here.

Supporting him, his predecessors, H.K. Patil and K.H. Srinivasa, the former Council Chairman B.L. Shankar and Prakash Rathod, MLC, said that the narco-analysis reports of the accused persons were missing. The accused had succeeded in scuttling the investigation for four years, they charged.

Subhalatha Asnotikar, a Congress MLC and mother of the Minister, is also an accused in the case.

They were asked why the then president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, B. Janardhana Poojary, who was requested by Vivek A. Naik, brother of the victim, to expedite the arrest of the accused, had failed to act on his letter dated April 2, 2004 when N. Dharam Singh was heading the government.

Mr. Ugrappa said the Congress had taken up the matter the moment the leaders came to know of it. Mr. Vivek Naik had even posted a copy of the letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Deepa Dileep Naik, wife of the deceased, had sent a similar letter to the Karwar Sub-Inspector of Police.

The leaders said that the KPCC president had recommended to the high command to initiate action against Ms. Subhalatha for her alleged involvement in the murder.

Mr. Patil, and M. Ramachandrappa and Kenche Gowda, general secretaries of the KPCC, said party leaders would meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur, as he had administered the oath of office to Mr. Asnotikar, and pressure him to seek the Minister’s resignation.

Krishna Byregowda, MLA and president, Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee, was present.

This is the second time in three days that Mr. Ugrappa is demanding the resignation of the Minister or his dismissal from the Ministry. Earlier, he charged the Minister with filing a false affidavit before the Returning Officer, Karwar, when he contested the Assembly elections.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu