Law minister withdraws resignation

Karnataka’s Law and Parliamentary Minister S. Suresh Kumar on Tuesday withdrew his resignation after Advocate General S. Vijay Shankar cleared him of the charges of taking a housing site from the government in violation of rules.

“As the (advocate-general) gave me a clean chit after scrutinising the documents, I have decided to withdraw the resignation letter. My conscience is clear now,” Suresh Kumar told reporters here.

He resigned June 23 after he was accused of obtaining the residential site of 4,000 square feet in upscale suburb of the city under a special category by withholding information that he and his family already owned property in Bangalore.
Though Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda rejected the resignation, the minister remained firm till the attorney general exonerated him.

“As I have maintained all along, I have not made any false claim or misrepresented facts. I was legitimately entitled to it as a three-time MLA (legislator) of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party),” said Suresh Kumar.

Gowda Monday directed the attorney general to verify the allegations levelled by a former BJP worker R. Bhaskaran, who accessed the documents through the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

As those owning a residential site or home in the city limits are not entitled to apply or avail another government site, which is priced lower than the market value, Bhaskaran alleged that Suresh Kumar did not disclose to the BDA that his mother owned a palatial house in a suburb of the city.