Sex abuse case snowballs, JD(S) set to suspend Deve Gowda’s grandson Prajwal Revanna

Speaking to reporters in Shivamogga, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy said Prajwal, the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, would be suspended following the party’s core committee meeting on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, he had said, “We are not shielding anyone and an SIT has been formed to probe the matter. Let the truth come out.”

The party has been at the receiving end of criticism, both from the Opposition and its own members.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence and said he should not dare talk about the “mangalsutra” of women till Prajwal is brought back to India.

Addressing a rally in Gulbarga in Karnataka, she said, “A major issue has surfaced in Karnataka…the person who shared the stage with him…for whom Modiji sought votes… he has sexually assaulted thousands of women. I want to ask Modiji what he has to say about this? Kya kehte hain hamare Pradhan Mantri isske baare mein…what does our Home Minister say about this.”

“Some time ago, I went to meet my daughter for three days. The PM and the Home Minister started saying Priyanka Gandhi has gone abroad. They get to know where I go, where the opposition leaders go. Lekin is tarah ka apradhi, is tarah ka rakshas…is desh ko chodke chala jaata hai aur inko pata nahi chalta (But when such criminals, demons leave the country, they don’t get to know). How can we believe such a claim…,” she said, referring to claims that Prajwal has left the country.

In an online post, Congress national spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed said, “The BJP government at the Centre helped sexual predator Prajwal Revanna escape from India. Deva Gowda knew exactly what his grandson was doing but kept his eyes closed and gave him the ticket once again. And of course, Narendra Modi is silent.”

The chorus also grew within the JD(S) to take action against Prajwal and his father. The party’s MLA from Gurmitkal constituency, Sharana Gowda Kandakur, said in a letter to the leadership: “The issue is causing embarrassment to the party and it may affect it during elections.”

At a press conference, Congress’s Supriya Shrinate said the women allegedly targeted by Prajwal “are domestic workers, party workers, his MPs”. “One of the videos shows a 63-year-old woman, old enough to be his mother or grandmother, pleading to him — ‘Don’t do this to me. Don’t record this’,” she alleged.

“It needs to be pointed out that the moment this was taken up by the Commission for Women in Karnataka, an SIT was set up and the same day he absconded to Europe. We are looking into his extradition to ensure he faces the might of Indian law,” she said.

Asked about the probe against his son, H D Revanna said he would not react to “issues” that are “four-five” years old. “Will not run away fearing such issues. They (the Congress) are in the government and they can do whatever they want,” he said.

He said Prajwal was not aware an FIR would be filed against him before he went abroad. “When they call him for questioning, he will come,” he said. The state government has set up a Special Investigation Team to look into the allegations against Prajwal.

Meanwhile, G Devaraje Gowda, a BJP leader who had contested from Holenarasipura in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and lost to H D Revanna, told The Indian Express that on December 8 last year, he wrote an email and a letter to BJP state unit president B Y Vijayendra, which he marked to the party’s top leadership.

In the past, Devaraje Gowda, an advocate at the Karnataka High Court, had also filed a petition to disqualify Prajwal for not declaring assets before the Election Commission.

“It has come to my notice that BJP and JD(S) are forming an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. BJP is one of the world’s largest parties under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the culture of respecting truth, culture and women. But… there is a pen drive in which Prajwal has blackmailed and sexually exploited many women. The pen drive contains 2,976 obscene videos in which he is involved… The pen drive has already reached Congress national leaders. If a JD(S) candidate is allowed to contest from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency after the alliance, the party will have to face the embarrassment of joining hands with such a family. This will also affect the prospects of the BJP and show the party in a bad light. I request you to bring the issue to the notice of the party high command and prevent the alliance in Karnataka. If the national leaders are willing to go through the videos and documents, I am ready to show it to them,” Devaraje Gowda said in his letter.

Congress’s Pawan Khera posted this letter on social media, and asked, “Why did the BJP still go ahead with the alliance? Why did the PM campaign for and share the stage with Prajwal Revanna despite knowing that he is the kingpin of the world’s biggest and murkiest sex abuse?”

The BJP, meanwhile, attempted to steer clear of the controversy, with Vijayendra, the Karnataka BJP president, saying, “The state government has initiated the formation of an SIT to probe the matter, and investigations are underway. The truth will be revealed in due course. Attempts to drag the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi into this issue are unwarranted and inappropriate. I urge the Congress not to politicise the issue.”

On the potential fallout, a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity, “Even JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has distanced himself… Where are we in the picture?”

The BJP’s Karnataka in-charge, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, could not be reached for a comment.

The clips had surfaced on social media three days before Hassan voted on April 26. Former Chief Minister and BJP’s Haveri Lok Sabha candidate, Basavaraj Bommai, questioned the timing of the videos coming to light, saying, “Given the timing of the incident, it seems like someone has planned it. I heard that some of the videos are fake and many similar videos are doing the rounds.”

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said the episode will not harm alliance candidates contesting Lok Sabha polls. “If anyone has committed a mistake, action should be taken against them,” he said.

Prajwal was the only JD(S) candidate to win the Lok Sabha election in 2019, but his performance as an MP has been underwhelming. Against the national average of 79 per cent and the Karnataka state average of 71 per cent, Prajwal had an attendance of 55 per cent. He participated in two debates, and asked 89 questions — lower than the national and state averages of 210 each.