Bangalore:
After two Karnataka ministers were allegedly filmed watching porn on a cellphone in the Assembly, one of them held a press conference to deny the accusations. Lakshman Savadi said the cellphone he used to view the content was not his. He also said the clip he watched "was of four people molesting a foreigner." He added, "I am not a criminal."
Mr Savadi and his colleague, CC Patil, were filmed by a local channel that was broadcasting proceedings in the Assembly. Sources say the ministers viewed two clips on a phone - one was pornographic, the other was a news story on a rape.
In Delhi, the BJP said it had yet to ascertain the facts. "People have high expectations from politicians...and politicians have a moral responsibility. BJP will take action if they are found guilty," BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said. PTI reports that BJP president Nitin Gadkari, currently campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, tonight phoned Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda and the party's state unit chief K S Eshwarappa about the incident.
Mr Gowda, who is on a tour, said that if the ministers are found guilty, he will request the Speaker of the Assembly, KG Bopaiah, to take action against them.
Mr Savadi's house was stoned this evening by protestors who were then taken away by the police.