Rajanna seeks action on 'honeytrap' attempt, submits representation to K'taka Home Minister
Bengaluru, Mar 25 (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said the state government will decide on the course of action and nature of the probe into the alleged "honeytrap" attempt on Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna, after consulting legal experts and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The statement came after Rajanna submitted a representation to Parameshwara seeking necessary action regarding the alleged incident.
Addressing reporters here, Parameshwara said, "Rajanna was unable to give any representation or complaint for the last few days due to his work commitments. Today he has given it to me as he had said in the Assembly, I have accepted. Regarding further action and nature of the probe, we will decide after discussing with the Chief Minister."
Noting that he cannot receive the complaint, as it should be given at the police station, he said what Rajanna has submitted to him can be considered as a representation or a plea, and based on this what action can be taken in accordance with law, will be decided after consulting the legal experts.
He declined to disclose the details when asked about the contents of the representation.
Responding to a query on Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court on the matter, the Home Minister said, "We don't know what the court decides. We won't wait for it and we will proceed independently for now."
Asked why the police did not file a suo moto case in this matter, he clarified that since the issue was raised in the Assembly, there should have been directions from the Speaker to take action.
"As there was no such cause of action, we had to wait for Rajanna to file representation or complaint."
He, however, refrained from responding to a question if there was a delay in action as the ruling party leaders were allegedly behind the "honey trapping".
Last Thursday, Rajanna had informed the Assembly that honeytrap attempts were made on him and that at least 48 politicians across parties had fallen victim to such schemes.
The issue created a stir in the Assembly, prompting the Home Minister to announce a high-level probe, while the opposition demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge.
Asked whether the representation was only in connection with his case or including 48 politicians across parties, who have fallen victim, Rajanna said his representation was only in connection with the case involving him.
"Is this the first time such a thing has happened? You (media) know better how many have obtained a stay from the court in such cases. My intention is to put an end to such things and not take revenge or make allegations against someone."
Asked why he was giving a representation to the Home Minister instead of lodging a complaint with the police, Rajanna said his move is consequential to the developments in the Assembly, after his name was taken there in connection with the "honey trap" case.
Earlier in the day, Rajanna told media in Tumakuru that he also wanted strict action against those involved in or supporting such acts of "honey trapping", as he stated that he has detailed everything that happened in a three-page note.
"I have not installed CCTV cameras in my Bengaluru house. If they were there, we could have identified those who came," he said.
He noted that the individuals who allegedly attempted to "honeytrap" him were strangers, and it needed to be investigated whether they acted independently or had someone behind them.
Giving further details, he said among the people who had visited him twice in alleged 'honeytrap' attempts, the same man was present on both occasions, while the woman accompanying him was different each time.
"The woman who came the second time claimed to be a High Court lawyer. However, she was not wearing a lawyer's coat but was clad in jeans and a blue top. They approached me, stating that they had something important and confidential to discuss. I can recognise them if I see their photos," Rajanna said.
Reacting to a PIL filed in Apex Court on this issue, Rajanna said, the PIL seeks a CBI probe, claiming that he had referred to 'honey trapping' of judges, but the fact is that he has not spoken about judges.
To a question on his travel plans, Rajanna said he would be visiting Delhi after March 30.
Asked whether he would take up the matter with the Congress high command, he responded, "The matter has already reached the high command. They have not asked me anything personally, so I haven’t spoken to them. However, they have gathered information on their own and have spoken to the Chief Minister about it."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kerala Chief Secy speaks out against 'being labelled black'
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 26 (PTI): Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan has spoken out about the colour and gender bias she has faced and its continued presence in society, sparking a debate on social media with many people showing their support.
What prompted the Chief Secretary to ignite the social debate was a comment made by someone comparing her work with that of her husband and predecessor V Venu by saying "it is as black as my husband's was white."
Hurt by the comment, Muraleedharan had put up a Facebook post about it but later deleted it because she was "flustered by the flurry of responses".
"I am reposting it because certain well-wishers said that there were things that needed to be discussed. I agree. So here goes, once again," she said in her post, which garnered over 1,000 reactions and has been commented upon and shared hundreds of times.
In the FB post on Tuesday night, Muraleedharan also shared how she grew up feeling like she was worth less because of her dark skin. It was only later, with her children's help, that she realised black is "beautiful."
Speaking to a TV channel on Wednesday, she said that society needs to change its attitudes and overcome these biases. According to her, this change must begin at home and in schools.
She further said the comparison with her husband was "unexpected" and it was Venu who encouraged to put up her FB post against it again. "He is the one who gave me the courage to do so," she said.
She added that, being in government, she was in a better position to bring attention to the issue, which was another reason for speaking out.
She also felt that the comparison not only referred to her dark complexion but carried a "value connotation" about the current governance being "black". "Therefore, I thought that we need to 'call it out'," she told the channel.
While she refused to tell the channel who made the comparative comment, she said the individual has not responded subsequently.
She said that she was getting a lot of responses regarding her post, some asking why she was reacting, while some others sharing their similar experiences.
"Those who have not faced such a bias, think it is a small issue. But, it is a big deal for those who have faced it. It is something which has questioned their identity and worthiness," Muraleedharan said.
Her solution to the issue is to "turn it on its head" and to say -- "yes I am black. Black is seven times beautiful."
She said that she was aware of instances where dark-skinned people have not been considered for jobs, especially where personality is a requirement, "unless they show a great amount of oomph".
"So, just like the glass ceiling exists for women, there is colour bias or discrimination at various levels also," she said.
Muraleedharan said that, as per her nature, she gets hurt initially by such things, but for a short time and then she quickly forgets it. "That is why I am able to move forward in life," she added.
She also referred to the support she got from her children and how they helped to change how she saw herself.
"It is a great experience when your children give you the courage to express yourself. Many people have told me. I am happy that our younger generation has persons like these," she said.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, shared her post with the comment -- "Salute dear Sarada Muraleedharan. Every word you have written is heart-touching. It deserves to be discussed. I too had a dark-skinned mother."
State General Education Minister V Sivankutty also backed Muraleedharan's "courageous response" and emphasised that discrimination based on skin colour has no place in a progressive Kerala.
In her FB post, she said that in the last seven months, since she replaced her husband as chief secretary, there has been a "relentless parade" of comparisons with him, and she had become "quite inured" to it.
"It was about being labelled black (with that quiet sub-text of being a woman), as if that were something to be desperately ashamed of. Black is as black does. Not just black the colour, but black the ne'er do good, black the malaise, the cold despotism, the heart of darkness," she said in her post.
She further questioned why black was vilified when it was the "all pervasive truth of the universe"..
The chief secretary also shared a childhood memory of her, as a four-year-old, asking her mother whether she could put her back in the womb and bring her out again "all white and pretty".
Growing up, it led to her feeling like a lesser person for not being fair, which had to be compensated somehow, she said in her post. But her children, who "gloried in their black heritage", changed her point of view.
"Till my children. Who gloried in their black heritage. Who kept finding beauty where I noticed none. Who thought that black was awesome. Who helped me see. That black is beautiful. That black is gorgeousness. That I dig black," she said.
