Headlines
BJP red-faced over Maharashtra minister's porno indiscretion
Pune, Sep 12
In a major embarrassment for the
ruling BJP in Maharashtra on Saturday, one of its senior cabinet
ministers virtually admitted to watching pornography before an audience
comprising around 1,000 students.
The incident took place at a
conference of Vidyarthi Hakka Parishad which was addressed by Food and
Civil Supplies minister Girish Bapat, who is also the guardian minister
of Pune district, at the Bal Gandharva Rangmandir here on Friday.
"I
know what you all watch at night on TV and clips, right? You watch
video clips at night... Because what you watch, even I watch... So don't
think I am grown old... The leaves are still green," Bapat was heard
saying in Marathi on television channels.
Chetan Oswal, a
student, said: "During the course of his speech, the minister seemed to
off-track and said that there are lot of things seen on television and
claimed he was aware what people watch at night."
Stunned by the
minister's utterances, Oswal and Yogesh Amte -- both students of
Yeshwant Law College - lodged a complaint with the Deccan Police Station
on Friday night.
Oswal said besides the minister, there were several legislators and women on the stage and in the audience.
Student
activists of the Nationalist Congress Party took out a march outside
Bapat's residence in the city in protest against his remarks.
Both
Oswal and Amte said a senior leader like Bapat should have controlled
himself in public instead of making such a confession.
"This not
only puts the BJP in a bad light but also sends a wrong signal to the
masses about the minister who is supposed to be a leader guiding people
on the correct path," Oswal told IANS.
After his comments led to a hue and cry in the auditorium, Bapat beat a hasty retreat.