Under pressure from its own MLAs and alliance partner, the BJP, JD(S) is set to suspend Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who is accused of sexually assaulting several women besides recording obscene videos.
A visibly disturbed former chief minister and JD(S) State president HD Kumaraswamy on Monday admitted that his nephew Prajwal's porn clips, which were leaked two days prior to the Hassan Lok Sabha polls, have caused embarrassment not just to family members but to the entire society. It is understood that the JD(S) patriarch Gowda himself has given a go ahead to initiate action against his grandson.
There is also an increasing clamour for action by several MLAs. Already two JD(S) lawmakers, Sharanagouda Kandakur and Samruddi Manjunath, have written letters to the JD(S) president in this respect and asked Kumaraswamy to choose between the family and the party.
Kumaraswamy hinted that action would be initiated against the 33-year-old first time MP who is seeking re-election as NDA candidate, as per law. "I will demand a thorough probe, including one into leak of the sleaze videos,'' he said.
A JD(S) core committee meeting scheduled to be held in Hubballi on Tuesday to take stock of the electoral situation in the remaining 14 Lok Sabha seats is also likely to discuss the sex tapes that have left the party rank and file embarrassed.
A decision is likely to be taken to suspend him from the party for six years while asking his father, former minister and MLA HD Revanna, also accused of sexually assaulting a former domestic help, to stay away from party activities.
Prajwal managed to leave the country and landed in Frankfurt, Germany, hours before the Karnataka government announced setting up of a Special Investigation Team to probe the 2,976 porn clips of at least 1,000 different women, including minors. He had allegedly recorded these clips besides sexually assaulting the victims.
Cases Filed Against HD Revanna and Prajwal
A 47-year-old former domestic help and a distant relative of Prajwal's mother Bhavani Revanna has filed a case against former minister and MLA HD Revanna and Prajwal for allegedly sexually assaulting her several times at their residence in Holenarispura in Hassan besides Prajwal making several lewd video calls to her minor daughter. She was reportedly sexually assaulted between 2019 and 2022.
Meanwhile, the Congress released a letter purportedly written by BJP leader Devaraj Gowda to the state president of BJP BY Vijayendra on December 8, 2023, allegedly exposing the presence of the pen drive full of sleaze videos of Prajwal Revanna.
Kumaraswamy also admitted that based on information provided by local BJP leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had suggested replacing Prajwal. It was, however, Deve Gowda who decided to re-nominate his grandson much against everyone's wishes. Why did the BJP still go ahead with the alliance and why is the Prime Minister silent, Congress leader Pawan Khera asked.
Everyone Knew:
For the last one year, there was talk of such sex videos of Prajwal, not just in Hassan but also among members of his family and a few others in political circles. They, however, didn't know the magnitude of these sex tapes. Devaraje Gowda, a BJP leader, had spoken about porn clips of Prajwal at a press conference. The JD(S) MP, however, had got an injunction from the local court against anyone distributing or forwarding these videos. Kumaraswamy, however, is said to have revealed that the embarrassment could have been avoided had the family been aware of the sex videos. Former Minister and JD(S) core committee chairman GT Deve Gowda had also claimed that neither the party nor the family knew about the scandal during ticket distribution.
Father Speaks:
Coming out in public for the first time after he and his son were accused of sexually assaulting a former domestic help, Revanna said that he is being politically targeted. They are talking about something that happened four years back. In my four decades of public life we have faced several inquiries and investigations, let them do it, he said. Asked about his son's sex tapes Revanna said that they are all three four years old. It is all being done for political and electoral gains,'' he alleged, blaming the Congress government in Karnataka.
About his son flying out of the country, Revanna said that it was rescheduled. ``He didn't know that an FIR will be filed. If the SIT issues a notice, he would return and face the inquiry,'' the former minister said after meeting his father, former PM Deve Gowda. He, however, said that he didn't discuss the issue with Gowda. Revanna said that he is exploring all legal options to quash the FIR filed against his son for political reasons.
Protests Continue:
Meanwhile, Congress members continued to stage protests all over the State. In Bengaluru, protests were held in front of residences of Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda. They also burnt effigies of Prajwal. AICC women wing president Alka Lamba held a press conference and demanded that the BJP should speak up about one of the most heinous sexual assaults in the country, that too by a sitting MP belonging to the ruling NDA. She accused the Central government of facilitating Prajwal, in leaving the country. The BJP Karnataka unit, however, is maintaining a stoic silence. Former chief minister and Haveri BJP candidate Basavaraj Bommai, however, called the controversy pre-planned.'' "I heard that some of the videos are fake and many similar videos are doing the rounds?"
