A 71 year old senior Congress leader and Excise Minister in Karnataka-HY Meti-has resigned over an alleged sex scandal. Meti has submitted his resignation on Wednesday to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who has recommended the Governor to accept the resignation to avoid further snowballing of the controversy.
Meti said he has quit on his own to avoid any embarrassment to Siddaramaiah and his Government. He said he has not done any wrong on his part. “I have resigned on my own volition to avoid any embarrassment to the Government and the Chief Minister. I have done nothing wrong. I have requested the Chief Minister to hold an inquiry," he said.
looking terribly embarrassed Siddaramaiah immediately accepted his resignation and ordered a CID probe into the entire episode. “Excise Minister HY Meti has resigned. I have recommended to Hon’ble Governor to accept the resignation. I have also ordered a probe,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Minister landed in a row after an RTI activist Rajashekar Mulali claimed that he was in possession of a CD containing Meti’s alleged indecent act with a woman who approached him for a favour. The activist had also claimed that some supporters of Meti had threatened him over the CD, which had not been released till the Minister’s exit. The activist held a Press Conference in Delhi and released the CD which shows the blurred image allegedly of Meti in a compromising position with a woman. TV channels have been showing a three minute blurred footage which led to his resignation.
The Congress had taken a stand that “appropriate action” would be taken only if the charges are proved against Meti and concrete evidence is available in the form of a CD. The Opposition BJP was accusing the Government of shielding Meti and attempting to hush up the issue. Meti’s resignation came soon after local television channels started telecasting blurred footage allegedly of him seen with a woman in a compromising position.
The issue had become an embarrassment to the Congress and the government, as it surfaced within a month after Minister for Primary and Higher Education Tanvir Sait was allegedly caught viewing objectionable pictures of women on his mobile phone during Tipu Jayanti celebration.
Congress insiders feel this has dented the already suffered image of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who has been playing the backward politics to the hilt. Meti belongs to Kuruba community of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“Meti says it is a conspiracy. He says it was not him in the video but has quit voluntarily owning moral responsibility. To bring out truth I have ordered CID inquiry,” Siddaramaiah said. “I have accepted his resignation and sent it to the Governor with recommendation to accept it. I have not pressurised Meti to resign. CID will bring out the truth. Action will be taken after getting the report,” he added.
Former Chief Minister and JD(S) State President HD Kumaraswamy has demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister over the issue. BJP also demanded the resignation of the CM.