Three Karnataka ministers resign over porn scandal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Three Karnataka ministers resigned on Wednesday after television channels aired footage of them apparently watching pornography on a mobile phone in the state assembly.

In an embarrassment for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, television cameras caught Co-operation Minister Laxman Savadi watching a clip on a phone with Women and Child Development Minister C.C. Patil during an assembly session on Tuesday.

Media reports said the phone belonged to Krishna Palemar, minister for environment and ports.

Savadi denied he was watching porn.

"I was watching the video clip of how a woman was raped by four people to know about the incident and prepare for a discussion on the ill-effects of a rave party in Udupi recently," Savadi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

"I do not have the cheap mentality to see pornographic visuals," he added.

The resignation of all three ministers was accepted by the state governor on Wednesday.

The opposition Congress has demanded action against the ministers.

"Just three days back there was a rave party in Udupi and now this watching the pornography in the assembly," Congress general secretary B. K. Hariprasad told NDTV. "One of the holy place of democracy, they have sacrileged."

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal)