BANGALORE: The ouster of three ministers after being caught watching porn clippings in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, isn’t the first instance of ministers of the BJP government being forced to step down after being embroiled in controversies.
In fact, 11 ministers, including a chief minister, have quit in the last four years after facing charges ranging from rape to watching porn clippings in the Assembly; while a couple of ministers and legislators are either facing court trials or charges.
This, however, is the first time that three ministers are quitting en-masse, that too in the dispensation headed by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Eight ministers had resigned during the previous government headed by B S Yeddyurappa.
It was then housing minister S N Krishnaiah Setty in 2010 who was the first to quit after facing charges of pledging forged documents to get a bank loan of `7.17 crore.
The case is being probed by the CBI besides irregularities in a KHB
land purchase.
Then came the shameful incident of food and civil supplies minister Hartal Halappa’s resignation after he was accused of raping his “friend’s” wife at the latters’ house. Worse, his action was caught on a mobile camera, the trial for which is still going on in court.
This was followed by medical education minister Ramachandre Gowda being caught in a medical college recruitment scam, and Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu indicted in ITASCA land scam. The two had to step down later.