BANGALORE: Three state ministers from southern India, including one holding a portfolio for women and child development, quit on Wednesday after being accused of watching porn in the local assembly.
The ministers from the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were filmed by television cameras watching graphic footage on their mobile phones on Tuesday while other lawmakers in the house were debating legislation.
In the footage, the ministers were seen watching a woman dancing, undressing and then engaging in a sexual act. They passed their mobile phones amongst themselves.
"We have resigned to avoid embarrassment to our party and not give the opposition an opportunity to disrupt the assembly proceedings today," state minister for cooperation Laxman Savadi told reporters.
"We were watching a clipping of an incident for a discussion on the rave parties held at St. Mary's Island (on the western coast of Karnataka). It was not a porn clip."
Karnataka's minister for women and child development, C.C. Patil, and the minister for ports and fishery Krishna Palemar also stepped down.
"It's a shameless act. The three ministers have submitted their resignation. We will set up an inquiry committee to probe the incident," said BJP spokeswoman Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.
A survey by India Today magazine conducted in 2008 in Indian cities found that three out of five men and one out of five women approved of pornography, which is illegal but widely available in India.
The incident is the latest embarrassment to hit the Hindu nationalist BJP.
An ombudsman investigating corrupt mining practices reported last year that illegal mining fraud had cost the Karnataka state and federal exchequers $3.6 billion.
After the scandal broke B.S. Yeddyurappa, the chief minister of Karnataka, had to resign and was arrested on graft accusations. He is now free on bail.
Yeddyurappa also faces allegations of selling government land at below market cost to family members.
Reacting to the sex video incident, a leader of the national ruling Congress party, Kapil Sibal, who is also telecom minister, said the BJP should "introspect" before they preach morality in public life.
In 2009, young activists from the radical Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, which has close ties with the BJP, attacked women in a fashionable bar, accusing them of "debauched behaviour" for drinking and smoking.
COMMENTS (12)
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@Baqar: Baqar mian, what makes you think that we Indians would defend a wrong action? The accused have already resigned from their posts. Let the law of the land take its course. What more do you want?
They had no idea if their activity was being recorder, poor politicans :)
@Baqar The fake mantel of self righteousness is worn by Pakistanis, not Indians. We Indians are admittedly not perfect but excel by most measures over our neighbors. These politicians have already resigned. If they have broken a law, they will be prosecuted.
Thanks everyone for your replies :) I have no objection at my Indian fellows if they defend their MLAs, who are porn addicts and can't stop to watch them even in the parliament. This shows moral situation that's indeed degrading :)
I didn't defend any politician in Pakistan, at least, nobody watches porn movie in Pakistan in the parliament. Bad things are bad, even they happen in Pakistan..!!!!!
If this was to happen in Pakistan, nothing would have happened.
When pron is illegal in India, why these Ministers are not arrested. They were watching pron not in their homes but in the Assembly where the laws are made that too when the assembly is in session.
@ Indian: pornistan doesn't exist everywhere. Agreed that countries in west and india watch more porn on per capita basis than Pakistanis, but is the depravity and perverseness of the searches from pakistan that is troubling. Remember that it was mostly about animals , and not about healthy human contact.
@Tahir: It has happened in Pakistan also.. But perhaps they were watching some talk shows.It's available on youtube..
By the way you are right that pornistan exists all over the world not only in pakistan. And every-one watches it. It's not a secret anymore.
@Tahir: well some time ago it was reported that some pakistani politicians were caught in brothel. I am from Bangalore and what they did was shame full but by resigning they have showed that there is some dignity left and ultimately its the pressure from people of their constituency which made them do that.
@Tahir: But at least they resign, in Pakistan even if we are caught we would not, its a reality.
I wonder, why cross the border commentators are silent on this news??? Why don't they comment about this incident?? Few months back, they were declaring Pakistan as pornistan...... what would they say now????
Corrupt minds exist everywhere dudes :) Pakistan is not an exclusive state for every type of negativity. None of our ministers or MNA's can dare do this in the parliament at least.