Should HY Meti have been axed earlier?

Bengaluru: The sex scandal involving Excise Minister H.Y. Meti has come as a blow to the ruling Congress party in the state and dented its image badly, admit senior Congress leaders.

The incident has left the rank and file of the Congress party shell shocked and has proved most embarrassing for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he had inducted Mr Meti, who belongs to his Kuruba  community, into the Cabinet despite strong opposition from senior  party leaders.

 Since the sex video  became public, Mr Siddaramaiah has reportedly avoided meeting anyone  and is said to be deeply hurt at being let down by someone he had trusted.

“It's yet another embarrassment for the government , whose image has already taken a beating thanks to  Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Tanvir Sait being caught on  camera allegedly watching porn at a public function and the alleged proximity of a few ministers to two  officials with huge unaccounted wealth discovered during recent income –tax raids. 

“The  suicides of senior police officers and the resignation of  a few others owing to alleged harassment by their seniors have also hurt the government’s image.  And now the Meti sex video has weakened the Chief Minister's position even more in the eyes of the high command and the public,” observed a senior Congress leader.

In his view, Mr Siddaramaiah could have saved the party from an awkward situation  had he asked Mr Meti to resign immediately and not  given him the opportunity to try and wriggle out of it.

“We are working  on ways and means to put this shocking episode behind us and  improve the party’s image,” the Congress leader added.