In a major setback to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka government was hit by a sex CD bombshell on Wednesday when an RTI activist, Rajashekhar Mulali, from Ballari released a sex CD of Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet colleague, Excise minister H.Y. Meti. Meti was “caught” in a sexual act with an Ayurvedic doctor who also turned out to be his relative. As the whole state watched the CD in shock, Meti, 71, rushed to Siddaramaiah’s residence and resigned within minutes of the CD being aired. Releasing the CD, the RTI activist in Delhi said he was concerned by the “impropriety” of the minister and alleged that he was under threat not to release the CD.
The incident has left a big scar on the Siddaramaiah government, which has been battling an image crisis for the past few months.
In a televised press conference in Delhi on Wednesday, the RTI activist alleged that Meti had sought sexual favours. The mystery over who shot the CD still continues to be a big question, with several acquaintances and aides of the minister coming under the scanner.
The Chief Minister quickly ordered a CID probe into the affair, even as he alleged that it was a conspiracy. Speaking to the media, Siddarmaiah said, “Meti has denied that he was in the CD, and has alleged conspiracy. Even I have a feeling that a conspiracy has been hatched in this case. The CID enquiry will bring out the truth in the matter; let us wait till the CID report comes out.”
The woman in the CD claimed that Meti was like a father figure. The woman alleged that police constable Subhash Mulkhod attached to the minister had a major role in making the video.
Mulali initially alleged that Meti had sought sexual favour from the woman in lieu of a transfer request. Sources close to Meti hinted that Mulali had been trying to use the CD to extort some money from the minister. What needs to be probed by the police is whether it was a consensual act or whether there was a benefit motive as it is being alleged that Meti was either harassing the woman or seeking sexual favours.
The opposition trained its guns on Siddaramaiah, seeking his resignation. JDS spokesperson Ramesh Babu said, “The CM is leading a government which has several dubious characters; there are two more ministers who have been involved in such acts and we believe that their videos will also become public soon. There should be fresh polls immediately as the chief minister has lost the moral right to continue.”
While Siddaramiah was quick to distance himself from the row, he told the media that he had asked Meti to resign as early as last Sunday itself if at all any CD existed. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Siddaramaiah said: “These things are beyond the standards of discipline that people have to set in their lives. I will wait for the CID police to probe before deciding on further action against Meti.” The incident is also a personal blow for Siddaramaiah as Meti also belonged to the “Kuruba” community and had got preference over many other senior party men on being inducted into the Cabinet. The biggest attack on Siddaramaiah came from former Cabinet colleague V. Srinivas Prasad who had stepped down citing poor performance to make way for Meti to be inducted as a minister. Srinivas Prasad said, “Is this the kind of performance that Siddaramaiah is waiting for from his Cabinet colleagues?” Prasad incidentally is expected to join the BJP in the coming weeks.
In a televised press conference in Delhi on Wednesday, the RTI activist alleged that Meti had sought sexual favours. The mystery over who shot the CD still continues to be a big question, with several acquaintances and aides of the minister coming under the scanner. The Chief Minister quickly ordered a CID probe into the affair, even as he alleged that it was a conspiracy.
The Karnataka police provided police protection to whistleblower Mulali following alleged threats to him from Meti’s associates. The BJP is now asking the same questions that Siddaramaiah had asked the BJP when three BJP ministers were caught watching pornography in the Assembly in 2012.
“Excise Minister H.Y. Meti should have been sacked for allegedly seeking sex in return for favours before the CD was made public as he was aware of the existence of the CD for many days now,” said BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje.
This is the second such incident involving a cabinet colleague of Siddarmaiah in less than a month which has put Siddaramaiah on the defensive. Earlier last month, another Cabinet minister, Minister for Primary Education Tanveersait, was caught watching porn clips on his phone during Tipu Jayanthi celebrations in Vidhan Soudha.
The other big challenge for Siddaramaiah is the ongoing investigations into the financial details and arrest of the two Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officers S.C. Jayachandra and Chikkarayarappa. The two officers who hold key posts in the government were arrested on 1December following a tip-off when the ED and I-T raids yielded nearly Rs 29.6 crore worth of cash and jewellery from them. The two officers who have close connections with several ministers in the government are believed to have confessed about the role of more officers in currency conversion. ED and I-T officers suspect that the arrested officers could actually be also handling money for a Karnataka minister close to Siddaramaiah. While I-T sources refused to name the minister, Siddaramaiah found himself in a spot when former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, in a press conference, said, “The accused have confessed before sleuths of Department of Income Tax (IT) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) that they had converted black money at the disposal of politicians with whom they were acquainted. Based on the statements of the accused bureaucrats, the IT and ED sleuths will initiate legal proceedings against the four Ministers.” Yeddyurappa further went on to name PWD minister H.C. Mahadevappa.