BJP leader arrested for alleged obscene remark against woman minister
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, CT Ravi, was arrested on Thursday. He was arrested after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against him for allegedly using a derogatory word against Congress leader and state cabinet minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. Ravi was arrested from the premises of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on charges of sexual harassment and using words or gestures intended to insult the modesty of a woman.
Ravi faces charges of sexual harassment
On Friday morning, he was brought for a medical checkup at the Mutag Health Center in Belagavi, Karnataka. He will be produced before the People's Representatives's court later. The incident between Ravi and Hebbalkar allegedly took place on the last day of the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly in Belagavi. Hebbalkar accused Ravi of using a derogatory term during an altercation in the Legislative Council.
Hebbalkar accuses Ravi of using derogatory term
The altercation reportedly came after an uproar over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on BR Ambedkar. During the exchange of words, Hebbalkar alleged that the BJP MLC Ravi called her with an "obscene word" and called Rahul Gandhi a drug addict. Addressing the allegations, Ravi has denied any wrongdoing and called them "false." He said, "Her allegations are false, let the audio and videos get verified, I will speak after that."
Hebbalkar seeks verification of incident recordings
Hebbalkar has also filed a formal complaint with the Legislative Council Chairman and sought verification of audio and video recordings of the incident. But since the house was adjourned then, recordings had stopped. Congress MLCs Umashree, Balkis Banu, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, and Nagaraj Yadav have backed Hebbalkar's claims. The chairman said he had never seen such an incident in the house before adjourning it 'sine die' and asked both sides to introspect.
