'Hardik Scandal': Sex, politics and videotape spice up Gujarat poll

With only weeks left for Gujarat to go to the polls, the State's politics has taken a new twist with politicians resorting to exposing 'scandalous' liaisons, the most recent being the surfacing of a tape purportedly showing Patidar leader Hardik Patel having sex in a hotel room. Hardik Patel, who is 24, has been leading the agitation for reservation for the Patidar community. With the State Government refusing to accept his demands, he has declared that he would help the Congress bring down the BJP Government in next month's election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home State. The tape, which is making its rounds on social media and has made headlines in mainstream media, shows a man purported to be Hardik Patel in a compromising position with a woman. The video has emerged as a blessing in disguise for the BJP which is at loggerheads with Hardik Patel. The tape comes in the wake of 'leaked' images of Ashwin Sankarsariya, who apparently uploaded the video on Youtube, with Union Minister and BJP leader Mansukh Mandviya, hinting at his links with the party. After Sankarsariya uploaded the ‘sex scandal’ video on YouTube, he spoke to the media and seemed proud of revealing what he called “Hardik’s true face, where he has been assaulting women”. The question arises, since when is having consensual sex a crime? In the so-called Hardik tape, it can be seen that no force was applied on the woman (whose face wasn’t really visible) and she seemed to be present in the room on her own will. Which leads us to the question: Who recorded the video? If someone spied on him and barged into his personal space, that person should be questioned and booked for violating Hardik Patel's right to privacy, which has been declared a fundamental rights by the Supreme Court. The court has ruled that privacy is a constitutionally protected right which not only emerges from the guarantee of life and personal liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution, but also arises in varying contexts from the other facets of freedom and dignity recognised and guaranteed by the enshrined Fundamental Rights. This isn’t the first time a political leader or his kin has been questioned after his private moments were made public. The trend began with Surya magazine publishing explicit photographs of Jagjivan Ram's son in bed with a young woman. Ironically, in recent times similar photographs of Varun Gandhi, which he claims are 'morphed', have hit the Net and social media. His mother Maneka Gandhi was the editor of Surya when Jagjivan Ram's son was done in. More recently AAP leader and Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar were felled by a leaked tape showing him having sex with a constituent. Before that Congress leader ND Tiwari's romp with women in the Hyderabad Raj Bhavan brought him down. BJP's V Shanmuganathan had to resign after a similar scandal at the Shillong Raj Bhavan. While there is nothing immoral or illegal about consenting adults having sex (though there are consequences in certain circumstances, for instance, if an individual has sex outside marriage and his or her spouse takes offence) the social and political impact is universal. Recall the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. Placing the so-called 'Hardik Tape' in public domain is neither about morality nor legality. It is about politics. It remains to be seen as what are the consequences in this case. About the author: Author is an Assistant Producer in ABP News Network Pvt Ltd and tweets at @NikitaKochar Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and views of ABP News Network Pvt Ltd.