Sex tapes and the downfall of ministers

Sex tapes have brought down many ministers in India - some survived and returned to their posts while others were forced to quit public life.

Bengaluru: Ramesh Jarkiholi is not the first minister to resign over sex tape allegations. Ministers in both BJP and Congress governments had resigned in the past over their involvement in sexual harassment issues or for watching sex videos in the Assembly and other similar cases. Few of them have come out ‘clean’ and continued in politics and a few others have bid goodbye to public life.

Sex scam ministers

H.Y. Meti, Laxman Sawadi, J. Krishna Palemar, C.C.Patil, Harathal Halappa were allegedly involved in sex scandals and resigned from their posts.

Meti was a minister in Siddaramaiah Cabinet and resigned after he was involved in an alleged sex scam. The remaining were ministers in the BJP government. Harathal Halappa was the first casualty in the BSY cabinet, who allegedly raped his friend’s wife. The woman filed a complaint against him by producing substantial proof. Later Halappa resigned from the Cabinet.

Halappa was acquitted of the alleged rape charges and was reelected from Sagara constituency in the 2018 Assembly elections. Halappa's case was the first sexual assault case registered against a sitting minister.

In 2012, three BJP ministers, Laxman Sawadi, J. Krishna Palemar and C.C.Patil were caught on camera while watching porn clips on their mobile phones while the Assembly session was on. Subsequently, the three ministers resigned from the D.V. Sadananda Gowda Cabinet. Three BJP ministers watching porn video clips made national news and it was a huge embarrassment to the party at the Centre.

Interestingly, Sawadi is the deputy Chief Minister in the BSY cabinet and C.C.Patil is the minister in the same cabinet. However, Palemar was defeated in subsequent elections held to the Assembly and is not actively involved in politics now.

Meti was the minister for Excise in Siddaramaiah Cabinet, his alleged sex scandal CD was released after he was found in a compromising position with a woman working as a daily wager in a hospital.

One RTI activist has released the CD in Delhi, but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acted quickly and secured the resignation of Meti. Later the woman made sexual harassment allegations against Meti. A CID enquiry was ordered in this regard, but later the original CD was found missing and Meti was acquitted of the charges.

BJP legislators, Raghupati Bhat and S.A. Ramadas too were involved in a similar controversy and a CD was released for their alleged sexual scams. During the 2013 Assembly elections, Bhat was defeated at the hands of Congress candidate Pramod Madhwaraj, however, in the 2018 Assembly elections, Bhat was reelected from Udupi Constituency. One Premakumari had made sexual harassment charges against former minister S.A. Ramadas, telephonic conversations of both were repeatedly telecasted on TV channels, but BJP fully backed Ramadas and he is a sitting MLA of the party.

In 2019, a CD was released against BJP MLA, Aravinda Limbavali, now minister in the BSY cabinet. His alleged unnatural sexual act made huge news. Later he was acquitted of the charges and the party made him a minister in the BSY cabinet.

Gadag MLA, Kalakappa Bandi alleged that a honeytrap was set up against him and four other MLAs and a CD was also released in this regard. But no one took his allegations seriously.

Jarkiholi CD shocks all

Ramesh Jarkiholi has now resigned from the Cabinet. The public and politicians demanded a thorough enquiry into the matter. According to the supporters of Jarkiholi and BJP, it was a honeytrap against him to end his political future. Few of them have questioned the intentions of social activist Dinesh Kallalli, who filed a police complaint against Jarakiholi.