Law to prevent malicious attacks on public figures being planned: Sudhakar

Ministers who got gag order allege a ‘conspiracy’ to tarnish image

March 06, 2021 11:56 pm | Updated 11:56 pm IST - Bengaluru

Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, one of the six Ministers who got an injunction order on Saturday on the media against publishing defamatory news on them, said the State government was mulling over bringing a strong law to prevent such “false and malicious attacks and blackmail”.

Dr. Sudhakar also said more Ministers were likely to approach courts seeking similar injunctions. The appeal came days after Ramesh Jarkiholi had to resign from the ministry following the airing of his intimate moments with a woman who had allegedly been promised a government job.

Discussion with CM

“We have discussed it with the Chief Minister and the Law Minister. This has become a new trend, blackmailing and tarnishing the image of a person in public life with CDs and false accusations. Not just politicians, many celebrities have faced this. A strong law needs to be brought to end this,” he said.

B.C. Patil

B.C. Patil

Dr. Sudhakar alleged a “political conspiracy” was under way to carry out a smear campaign against them by “misusing media”. “With today’s technological advances, anyone can be falsely targeted. If they have a case anyone can go to the courts. But people are indulging in hit-and-run attacks, tarnishing our image built for several years of hard work. This is immoral and illegal,” he said, defending his move of seeking a gag order on the media.

Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil tweeted that the injunction order “was only a precautionary measure to prevent a defamatory campaign against him”. Other Ministers who approached the court and have been successful in getting an interim injunction order, also claimed “political conspiracy” and that technology could be “misused” to tarnish them. Dr. Sudhakar and Youth and Sports Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda also defended Mr. Jarkiholi, expressing suspicion that he was also a victim of such a conspiracy.

Byrathi Basavaraj

Byrathi Basavaraj

Urban Development Minister B.A. Basavaraj said a few Ministers, including him, were being targeted for leaving the Congress and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, thus facilitating the latter to form the government. He denied rumours of the existence of a CD recorded during their stay in Mumbai, after they quit the Congress and before they joined the BJP. Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekhar said the “truth behind the conspiracy” to defame them would be out in the next three or four days.

“All the 15 of us who went to Mumbai will hold a press conference together and tell the people what happened in Mumbai and who are behind the smear campaign now,” claimed Mr. Somashekhar.

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