Karnataka Porngate: Anna Demands Jail for Three Ministers
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS): Anna Hazare Wednesday expressed "dismay" over the three Bharatiya Janata Party ministers in Karnataka viewing porn in the assembly and demanded that they should be "jailed" for bringing "disrespect to the Constitution".
"I was dismayed after learning about the two Karnataka ministers watching porn inside the Karnataka assembly. I was more disappointed after learning that the assembly was in session. One of them is woman and child development minister. And the porn clip was passed to them by a third minister," Hazare said in his statement.
The three ministers -- Laxman Savadi, C.C. Patil and J. Krishna Palemar - resigned Wednesday after Savadi, the cooperation minister, and Patil, women and child development minister, were Tuesday caught watching the porn clip on the cell phone of Palemar, the environment and ports minister.
After the public uproar, they quit early Wednesday, claiming they had done no wrong and asserting a probe will prove their innocence.
Hazare demanded that such kind of people should be expelled from the assembly as they have brought "disrepute" to the assembly and should be sent to be jail.
"These people should be expelled immediately from the assembly as they have bought disrepute to it (assembly). They have shown disrespect to the constitution for which they should be jailed," he said in his statement written in Hindi.
Hazare, in his letter, said that according to constitution, assembly and parliament are "holy temple".
"In such a holy temple if they see such obscene films, then it is a disrespect to the Constitution. In this holy temple, they should sit and frame laws for the betterment of the people," he said.
He questioned the three for the kind of example they are setting for the public.
Hazare, who led anti-corruption campaigns in the country last year for a strong Lokpal, also said such people are "maligning" the assembly.
"The future of the people is in danger if such people are in power.. It's time to change the system and to save the country from such people," Hazare said.