Bengaluru: Days after Karnataka Education Minister, Tanveer Sait, came under fire after he was allegedly caught watching ‘porn’ on his mobile phone during a Tipu Jayanti programme, a report on Wednesday stated that the minister was allegedly looking at photographs of Melania Trump, wife of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The report quoted senior police officers, who sourced the video footage of Sait, saying, “The photographs the minister was allegedly watching were of Melania Trump’s photo-shoot from her modelling days. Among the many messages sent to the minister's WhatsApp account, Melania photographs, too, popped up on the screen.”
Sait was allegedly caught glancing at these photos when a cameraman of a private news channel zoomed in on the minister’s cell phone. In his capacity as the district in-charge minister, Sait was sharing the dais with member of Parliament B.V. Naik, former legislator Syed Yasin and government officials at Tipu Jayanti celebrations organised jointly by the zilla panchayat, city municipal council and department of Kannada and Culture.
The unsavory incident occurred soon after Sait’s speech on the ruler of Mysore. As Dr Arun Jolad Kondali of Hampi University began to speak, the minister picked up his cell phone and was caught flipping through the videos.
The minister's act of indiscretion was a godsend for Opposition leaders, in particular, BJP leaders who staged protests against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. They demanded Sait's resignation on grounds that he has brought disrepute to the education department.
