The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to initiate legal action against television channels that aired adult video clips in which they alleged that a few of its party leaders from Bidar were involved.
Announcing this at a press conference on Saturday, party spokesperson Ashwathnarayana said the BJP would also lodge a complaint with the Press Council of India. “Our legal cell will start proceedings against the news channels that showed a sleazy video footage and alleged that the people seen in the footage were from the BJP,” he said.
Mr. Ashwathnarayana also demanded an apology from activists and leaders who participated in the panel discussions on television. “If they do not apologise, our colleagues from BJP Yuva Morcha will stage a protest in front of their houses. We will also initiate legal action against them,” he said.
On Friday some channels aired a clip of a striptease and identified the men in the clip as Babu Wali, former general secretary of the BJP district unit, and B.S. Kudre, BJP leader and former general manager of the District Central Cooperative Bank.
Foot-and-mouth disease
Holding the State government responsible for the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in the State, Mr. Ashwathnarayana said the government and officials from the Animal Husbandry Department had failed to check its spread.
Demanding that the farmers whose cattle had succumbed to the disease should be given adequate compensation on the basis of the cattle breed, Araga Jnanendra, who heads the party’s Krishi Morcha said a team of BJP members, led by former Animal Husbandry Minister Revu Naik Belamagi would visit 1,018 affected villages to ascertain the loss incurred by the farmers. “Although the official figure of the head of cattle that has succumbed to the disease is 1,687, the actual figure is more. We will start by visiting Channapatna on Sunday, and we will tell the farmers that our party is with them,” he said.
He said there was a shortage of veterinarians in the State. “Of the sanctioned 2,400 posts, 750 are vacant. This apart, 50 per cent of livestock inspectors’ posts are also vacant,” he said.
