BANGALORE: Three former ministers who are accused of watching and sharing a porn-clip inside the Assembly - Lakshman Savadi, Krishna Palemar and C C Patil - deposed before the Legislature committee on Thursday which is probing into the incident.
According to sources, Savadi, who was grilled for over half an hour, is said to have admitted to watching the clip but claimed that it was “unintentional”. He also tendered an apology.
Stands on clipping
Savadi made a reiteration and an U-turn before the committee. While stressing that he was only watching the clip of the murder of a woman by youngsters in an Arab country, Savadi added that the phone on which he was watching the clip did not belong to Palemar — a departure from his statement on the day of the incident.
Patil and Palemar, however, were said to be consistent in their respective stands. Patil maintained that he did view the clippings, but could not see anything as he was not wearing glasses which is a must for him to read or see things. I have no role in this episode. I only told Savadi to switch off the mobile,” Patil later told reporters.
Palemar claimed that he was hurt by the episode while maintaining that the mobile phone on which Savadi was watching porn was not his.
The panel chaired by BJP MLA Shrishailappa Bidarur is exploring legal options to summon other 8-10 MLAs who are also said to have watched the porn clip in the Assembly.
When asked about this, Bidarur said: We are exploring legal options. Only if the legal parameters permit, we will think of it (summoning other members).”
Bidarur said that he would meet Speaker K G Bopaiah on Friday seeking extension of deadline for presenting the report till March 20. The next meeting of the panel is scheduled on March 15.