Karnataka - Bangalore

Women's commission records statement of Renukacharya's wife

Staff Reporter

Jayalakshmi fails to make an appearance; summons issued to her to be present on June 11

INQUIRY: BJP MLA M.P. Renukacharya (right) and his wife, Suma, meeting State Women's Commission Chairperson Pramila Nesargi in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: The Karnataka State Commission for Women on Monday began its inquiry into the threat and blackmail allegations by Jayalakshmi, a nurse, against the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA for Honnali, M.P. Renukacharya. Ms. Jayalakshmi failed to appear for the inquiry, but Commission Chairperson Pramila Nesargi directed that summons be issued to her to appear before the Commission on June 11 with seven persons listed as witnesses on her behalf.

Mr. Renukacharya's wife, Suma, gave her statement before Ms. Nesargi. Ms. Suma told the Commission that Ms. Jayalakshmi, who had befriended her at a yoga camp in Honnali in 1999 and had subsequently become a friend of the family, had been helped financially by her husband several times.

According to Ms. Suma, matters came to a head when, in early 2006, the BJP and the Janata Dal (S) decided to become coalition partners to form the Government. Mr. Renukacharya had joined other BJP legislators who were taken to Tamil Nadu in the days before the coalition led by H.D. Kumaraswamy was to prove its majority in the Legislative Assembly. Ms. Suma had heard rumours that Ms. Jayalakshmi had accompanied her husband on this jaunt.

Her husband had, however, denied the rumours, but soon afterwards Ms. Jayalakshmi started calling him, and pressuring him to marry her. When her threats failed, Ms. Jayalakshmi said she would go to the media with photographs and other details of her "relationship" with Mr. Renukacharya.

`Mental agony'

Ms. Suma said the whole sordid episode had caused her much mental agony, and her two young children too had been affected, fearful of what would happen to their father. The issue had nearly destroyed their marriage, she said.

Mr. Jayalakshmi's attempt to commit suicide two months ago, after which she was brought in an unconscious state to Mallige Nursing Home, was her "last-ditch attempt" to blackmail Mr. Renukacharya, Ms. Suma told the Commission.

The seven witnesses who have been summoned along with Ms Jayalakshmi are Vasudeva Rao, Buladi, Santosh, Vaasanthi, B.V. Sudha, Shivakumar, and Raviprakash.

Yeshwantpur Regional Transport Officer K. Alaswamy gave a statement that Ms. Jayalakshmi had obtained a driver's licence claiming to be the wife of Mr. Raviprakash.

Mallige Nursing Home representatives furnished several details relating to Ms. Jayalakshmi's treatment during her stay at the hospital.

`No communication'

Ms. Nesargi said though Ms. Jayalakshmi had stated before the media that she had no faith in the Commission as far as this matter was concerned, she had received no communication from her withdrawing her complaint.

Ms. Nesargi said a notice would be sent to Nirmala Venkatesh, a member of the National Commission for Women, who had made some derogatory remarks against the State Commission.

Mr. Renukacharya later told presspersons that the allegations against him were baseless, and the compact disc of compromising photographs sent to BJP president Rajnath Singh were concocted.

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