A woman has threatened to sue Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa for allegedly outraging her modesty and violating her dignity, reported The New Indian Express. During a press conference, Kalappa had referred to an audio clip of a purported conversation between the woman, whom he identified by name, and a journalist about her experience with Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bengaluru South candidate Tejasvi Surya.
The woman accused Kalappa of dragging her into the controversy “despite my request that I want to steer clear of this matter”. “As an advocate you know very well the conversation was private and I was egged on by the guy,” the woman tweeted in a reference to the telephone conversation with the journalist. “I did not authorise him to publish it. The whole conversation was an instigated one and also private.”
In a Facebook post after the media interaction, Kalappa questioned why no action was taken against Surya in the case. “If there are three women who have suffered at his hands and if the conversation of [name withheld] is to be believed, the entire facts were before both Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders before the declaration of Surya’s nomination,” Kalappa wrote. “If so, under Supreme Court-directed Vishaka guidelines, what steps did the BJP/RSS take? [The woman] mentions that she has complained to the Koramangala Police. Why does the said complaint not figure in his election affidavit?”
Kalappa claimed that the woman had complained to BJP MP Pratap Simha and questioned what the lawmaker had done to protect her.
The Congress spokesperson, meanwhile, refuted her claims that he had violated her dignity. “You are welcome to initiate legal proceedings,” Kalappa tweeted. “You will, however, find it an uphill task to prove how I have violated your dignity or that of any woman for that matter. My best wishes to all your endeavours including legal action against me.”
Kalappa also denied the woman’s claims that he had first-hand access to the audio clip. “This conversation has been heard by millions, having gone viral over the last 2-3 days,” the Congress spokesperson said.
Surya had filed a suit in the civil city court after reports said there were allegations of sexual abuse against him. On April 12, the Karnataka High Court set aside a gag order a Bengaluru sessions court had imposed on 49 media houses last month, against reporting defamatory statements about Surya. The bench said Surya can approach the Election Commission if he finds any content about him published in the media to be defamatory.
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