In a major embarrassment to the Congress government in Karnataka, 71-year-old Excise Minister H.Y. Meti was forced to resign on Wednesday after television channels aired a clip of him in a compromising position with a woman.
Mr. Meti has been in the midst of a controversy over the last four days for allegedly seeking sexual favours from a woman, a contract employee in the Department of Health, who had come to him seeking help for a transfer.
CID probe ordered
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has forwarded the resignation to the Governor, has ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry into the incident. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Mr. Meti had “voluntarily resigned on moral grounds” and that it “looks like a conspiracy” by Mr. Meti’s political detractors.
Speaking to the media after tendering his resignation, Mr. Meti said he had quit to “save embarrassment” to the government and the Chief Minister. He had himself asked that a probe be ordered, he added.
The Opposition, meanwhile, has stepped up its attack on the government. Janata Dal (Secular) State president and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said Mr. Siddaramaiah had known about the alleged goings-on for some time and had been trying to hush up things. Mr. Siddaramaiah called this “far from the truth.”
This is the second successive embarrassment for the government, a month after Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanvir Sait was caught allegedly viewing ‘objectionable’ content on his mobile phone during Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The CID has, however, cleared him of the charge.
