Ramesh Jarkiholi is the latest addition to the list of elected representatives suffering a fall from grace due to allegations of ‘impropriety’.
He will be the fourth minister to resign from the Cabinet over such charges, since the first case in 1973.
The saga of such ministerial misconduct started when R D Kittur, a minister in the Devaraj Urs government, was forced to step down. It was following complaints that he had housed a woman who was missing.
Such cases have been few and far between. While there has been some criticism over the timing of the video release in Jarkiholi’s case, political observers feel that such incidents are a cause for shame, not only to politicians and political parties, but also to the people of the state.
After the Kittur case, it took close to four decades for another such scandal to surface, which cost the Cabinet berth of a minister.
Hartal Halappa, the then Food and Civil Supplies Minister in the BJP government (2008-13), was forced to resign from the Cabinet in 2010 after rape allegations were leveled against him. He was subsequently acquitted.
Also read: Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi resigns over sex scandal in setback for BJP
Six years later, in 2016, a CD of the then excise minister H Y Meti was released by an RTI activist, purportedly showing the minister in a compromising position with a woman, who allegedly approached him seeking help. Meti quit the Siddaramaiah cabinet.
Several other cases have surfaced over the years, including those involving BJP MLA Renukacharya and the porngate episode involving three ministers of the 2008-13 BJP government, among others.
Speaking to DH, Chambi Puranik, a retired political science professor, expressed concern that such cases were becoming more frequent. “This has caused a new level of ridicule aimed at politicians, apart from damaging their image,” he said.
Such incidents, which might have some mala fide intent, are a cause of embarrassment for the people of Karnataka, which is considered a politically enlightened state, he added.