Karnataka ministers quit, after caught watching porn in Assembly

BANGALORE: Three BJP ministers in Karnataka resigned on Wednesday, a day after they were caught watching porn clips in the Karnataka assembly.

An embarrassed BJP leadership tried to minimise the damage to its image by asking cooperation minister Laxman Savadi, women and child development minister CC Patil and Ports, science and technology minister Krishna Palemar, who supposedly provided the porn film, to resign.

Speaker KG Bopaiah also barred the three from attending proceedings of the assembly till a House inquiry committee submits its report by March 12.

In his ruling, Bopaiah asked the three to give an explanation by February 13 and their reply would be placed before the proposed six-member inquiry committee, comprising two members each from BJP, Congress and JD(S). The unsavoury episode rocked the House and provided fodder to the opposition to take on the ruling party.

Savadi and Patil were caught by news TV cameras, on Tuesday, viewing the porn video footage on Savadi's mobile phone, inside the state assembly, during proceedings. The incident instantly battered the image of the Sadananda Gowda government and BJP and triggered wide-spread condemnation across the state.

"We don't want the party and the government to face further embarrassment," the minister told reporters.

Earlier, top BJP leaders summoned the trio and told them to resign following direction from BJP president Nitin Gadkari.