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.
