BALLARI: Though the leak of a sex tape in which Congress leader H Y Meti was purpotedly seen in a compromising position with a woman has led to his resignation from the state cabinet, the aftereffects continue to be felt.
Some disgruntled Congress leaders are now approaching RTI activist Rajashekhar Mulali, who created ripples in the state after he claimed that Meti’s supporters threatened him for possessing the sex tape, though he still claims that he does not have the video.
Even some BJP leaders are also running behind him in New Delhi. The Congress leaders are establishing contact with the RTI activist apparently to use him as a weapon against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G Parameshwara, say sources.
Mulali confirmed that some senior Congress leaders met him in New Delhi and “congratulated” him.
“I can’t reveal their names. They told me that the CM and the KPCC president neglected me initially and the result was all that happened a few days back. One thing is clear, there is an opposition party within the Congress government in the state,” he told Express over phone from New Delhi.
Along with the Congress leaders, BJP leaders are also in touch with the RTI activist. Some political analysts say besides using the activist as a weapon, the leaders of both the parties may be trying to know what kind of weapons he has against other political leaders.
The analysts say sex scandals had also hit the BJP in the state. This had started with the leak of photos of its leader Renukacharya allegedly kissing a nurse, Hartal Halappa allegedly raping the wife of his friend, Lakshmana Savadi allegedly watching a porn clip during the legislature session and S A Ramadas allegedly having an affair with a woman.
However, sex scandals involving the Congress leaders had not been revealed till recently. Recently Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait was allegedly caught viewing obscene images on his phone at a public programme. The BJP leaders may be trying to convince Mulali to expose more Congress leaders, the analysts said.
A senior Congress leader told Express that some leaders of the party are in fear over ‘leak’. “During the legislature session in Belagavi, some legislators jokingly said to each other to recall if they did any naughty things and if it was caught on any camera,” added the leader.