Kya haal, Appa?

The tainted former minister gave Rajya Sabha polls a skip yesterday, in light of a Public Interest Litigation that raises questions about his protracted alleged illness

Former minister Haratalu Halappa, accused of raping his friend's wife, was absent as the state assembly cast their votes to elect representatives for Rajya Sabha yesterday.

Halappa, who is allegedly evading a jail stay as an undertrial citing health problems, is in the VIP ward of the Victoria Hospital.

According to sources in the BJP, he chose to skip the polling, fearing that the media would catch him hale and hearty.



"Until yesterday the party leaders were in the favour of calling him for the polling," said a BJP leader.
u00a0
"But, yesterday a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the high court, seeking a court intervention to check on his health. So we didn't want to take any chances, and he had to remain in the hospital."

Skeptic about Halappa's health, K Raghavendra, a city based lawyer, had petitioned the PIL. Halappa has spent 38 days in the hospital after he surrendered to CID, when they booked him under rape charges, in May.

Since he could have voted as an MLA even under judicial custody, the city police had arranged for escorting Halappa to Vidhana Soudha, where the polls were held.
u00a0
But his lawyers are understood to have advised him against the idea.

"We had enough numbers required for the victory of our candidates," said K S Eswarappa, BJP state president. "Halappa needed rest, so we didn't disturb him," he added.

While B G Tilak, medical superintendent, Victoria Hospital, was not available for comments, a senior doctor in the hospital said that there was no reason for concern about his health, and he could have come out for voting.

"According to medical textbooks, there is no fever which can last for more than 30 days. But Halappa's case seems to be a blatant mockery of the system," he said.

Tilak had earlier said that Halappa was complaining of fever and minor variations in blood pressure, and was depressed.

"The law should be the same for everyone, and it should not be misused to favour the privileged, said Raghvendra.
u00a0
"While there are many inmates complaining of various diseases and are being treated in the jail hospital, why is there a special treatment for Hallappa?"

He said he had anticipated Halappa's absence in the polling, and was not surprised at all with his eventual no-show.

38
The number of days Halappa has stayed in the hospital