BENGALURU: The ruling Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was recently shamed when the state's Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait was caught on camera watching sexually explicit pictures on his mobile phone during an official event. Organised to mark the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan in Raichur, Sait who was the chief guest, could be seen scrolling down a list of seemingly explicit pictures on his phone in the middle of the function.
Kannada television channels aired the footage, prompting the Chief Minister and state Congress president G Parameshwar to take note of the incident. Meanwhile, the accused has denied all allegations.
Sait has, meanwhile, filed a complaint against a journalist and his cameraman, who shot a video of him purportedly watching sleazy pictures on his cellphone. "Based on the minister's complaint, we've registered a case against the TV reporter and cameraman," a senior police officer said. The duo have been charged under IPC Section 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).
The Chief Minister said: "I'm not aware of the development. I'll speak to Sait before reacting... (But) I'm not defending anyone. What's important is whether the mistake has been committed. I don't want an innocent person to get punished, regardless of the person's stature or party affiliation. I won't accept the report Sait submits to me. I will get the incident probed before initiating action."
Former PM HD Deve Gowda said Siddaramaiah should have been careful while dealing with the issue. He said: "The media has shown footage of Sait watching objectionable photos on his mobile. Instead of giving the minister a clean chit, the CM should order a probe into the incident. Now, a complaint has been filed against a media house."
