Bangalore:
Janata Dal (Secular) MP Sharangouda Kandkur has demanded the suspension of party member Prajwal Revanna amid a row over explicit videos – allegedly showing the Hassan MP sexually assaulting several women – that circulated in his constituency a day after the vote.
In a two-page letter made public Monday morning, Kandkur told party patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda that the JDS was “embarrassed by the circulating videos, and this is damaging the reputation of both you and your party.”
Mr Revanna – grandson of Mr Deve Gowda – is currently out of India. He left for Germany on Saturday morning, shortly after the videos appeared online. On Sunday, he filed a complaint with police, claiming the clips – reportedly thousands of them – had been tampered with. The videos, he alleged, were distributed to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters.”
This was a day after the Congress government led by Prime Minister Siddaramaiah said a special team had been formed to investigate the matter.
READ | Siddaramaiah forms a team to investigate a sex scandal surrounding JDS MP
The JDS, which has allied with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sha elections, has declined to comment pending a full investigation.
However, senior party leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy – son of Mr Deve Gowda – said there can be no question of forgiving someone who has committed a crime.
READ | “Let the facts come out”: HD Kumaraswamy on cousin's sex scandal
He also said the party had nothing to do with Revanna apparently fleeing the country. “If he has gone abroad, it is their (the Special Investigation Team) responsibility to bring him back. What can I say… SIT will get him, don't worry.'
The scandal broke last week after a woman filed a police case against Revanna, accusing him of sexual assault. The case was filed at a police station in his constituency.
She claimed she was sexually assaulted multiple times between 2019 and 2022. The clips in circulation show more women and they are likely to come forward to file cases.
The row has also turned into a political bickering between the JDS and the BJP, with some national party leaders distancing themselves from the state party and calling for a rethink. S Prakash, the chief spokesperson of the BJP's state unit, said, “We as a party have nothing to do with the videos nor do we have any comment…”
The ruling Congress has also become involved after some BJP leaders informed their party's state chief BY Vijayendra about the clips in December. They have questioned their rival's decision to field Mr Revanna despite knowledge of the videos.
Fourteen of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, including Hassan, voted in the second phase last week. The remaining 14 are due to vote in the third phase on May 7, but the JDS is not contesting any of these seats. As per the number of seats agreement, the party – which had withdrawn from the Congress to join the BJP in October – contested only three seats in south Karnataka.