Sleaze video hits Tamil Nadu BJP; general secretary quits

Annamalai announced the constitution of a panel to probe sexual allegations against party members and said Raghavan will prove his 'innocence'

A sting operation purportedly showing a senior leader in a sleazy video call with a woman party office-bearer rocked the Tamil Nadu BJP on Tuesday. Party general secretary K T Raghavan, the subject of the sting operation by a YouTube channel run by a journalist who is also a member of the BJP, resigned from his post, hours after the video went viral on social media.

Stung by the sleaze video, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai constituted a committee headed by state secretary Malarkodi to go into the bottom of the issue. He said the committee will go into the veracity of the allegations made in the sting operation.

Madan Ravichandran, a journalist who joined the BJP in October 2020, released the video of the sting operation on Tuesday in which Raghavan is involved in a sleazy video chat with a “district-level” woman party functionary. The sting did not have any audio, and DH could not independently verify the authenticity of the video clip.

Congress MP S Jothimani submitted a complaint to the Director-General of Police (DGP) demanding an investigation into the case and arrest of Raghavan.

In the video, Madan claimed he sent the video clip in question to Annamalai, who told him to “go ahead” and release the video to ensure that the woman gets justice. The journalist also released a “screenshot of his chat” with Annamalai and featured it in the video. Madan also claimed that he had videos of 15 other BJP leaders.

Hours later, Raghavan announced on Twitter that he has resigned as general secretary of Tamil Nadu BJP and pleaded not guilty. “The people of Tamil Nadu know who I am. I am not guilty. I will take the legal route. Dharma will win,” Raghavan said, adding that he took the decision after consulting Annamalai.

In a statement, Annamalai said women office-bearers in BJP are “safe” and referred to his conversations with Madan on the sting operation. The former Karnataka-cadre IPS officer said Madan had told him that he has video proofs of “misdeeds” of some party leaders, and that action should be taken against them.

“I replied to him that unless the allegations are proved, action cannot be initiated against anybody in the party whereas I also assured him of immediate action if allegations are proved,” Annamalai said, adding that Madan refused to hand over the video footage to him.

Madan, Annamalai said, messaged him asking whether any action was taken against the leaders against whom he complained. “I stood very firmly on my stand that disciplinary action cannot be taken without knowing the real facts of the accusation. Therefore, I replied to him shortly in the message that ‘you may proceed if you want justice’,” Annamalai said.

Annamalai said Raghavan met him in the morning and alleged that “high-end” technology was used to “defame” his stature.

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