Under fire from the Opposition parties after TV channels showed visuals of him allegedly watching objectionable pictures of women on his phone, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanvir Sait called on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday and pleaded innocence.
According to sources, the Minister whose resignation is being demanded by the Opposition, told Mr. Siddaramaiah that he had done nothing wrong to resign.
“The media has played up the issue,” he told the Chief Minister, sources said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah told Mr. Sait that the issue would be brought to the notice of the party high command and action would be taken based on its direction.
The Minister said he was only browsing WhatsApp messages on Tipu Jayanti celebrations.
Mr. Sait, who represents the Narasimharaja constituency in Mysuru, was inducted into the Cabinet in June.
Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary demanded that Mr. Sait be sacked. “If we still sleep over the matter, a situation may arise where we will have to sleep during the upcoming elections. The Chief Minister has to safeguard the prestige of the people of his home district of Mysuru,” he said.
A few Congress legislators said Minister K.J. George was re-inducted after the Criminal Investigation Department provided him a clean chit in the M.K. Ganapathy case. Similarly, the Chief Minister has every right to drop Mr. Sait now and induct him if he was found not guilty, they said.
Some Congress legislators argued that if Mr. Sait did not quit, the Opposition would use the issue to embarrass the government during the State legislature session in Belagavi commencing from November 21.
