Prajwal Revanna ‘sex video’ case: Deve Gowda’s grandson to be suspended from JD(S) today

Prajwal Revanna, Janata Dal (Secular) sitting MP from Hassan in Karnataka, is likely to be suspended from the party on Tuesday, two days after a “sexual harassment” case was registered against him amid mounting Opposition’s attack the JD(S)-BJP alliance in the state.

Prajwal Revanna’s uncle and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said the party has decided to suspend him over sexual abuse allegations, and a final decision on the matter will be taken after a core committee meeting on Tuesday, April 30.

Amid the political firestorm over allegations of sexual harassment against Prajwal Revanna and his father, MLA HD Revanna – the grandson and son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda respectively – the JD(S) has convened a critical core committee meeting in Hubbali on Tuesday. The party has options of either suspending or expelling them, people familiar with the matter told HT.

The Karnataka Police on Sunday booked Prajwal Revanna and HD Revanna – for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.

Prajwal Revanna ‘sex videos’ case: Top updates

HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said the JD(S) has decided to suspend his nephew, Prajwal Revanna, who is a joint JD (S)-Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Hassan for the Lok Sabha election 2024, over allegations of his sexual abuse of several women. Hassan went to the polls on April 26.

“So far, there are no direct allegations against Prajwal Revanna. If the charges are true…punishment should happen in accordance with law. There is no compromise. If Prajwal Revanna is wrong, our family is in agreement for action to be taken against him,” HD Kumaraswamy told reporters.

The former chief minister of Karnataka also sought to distance JD(S)’s alliance partner BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the case, amid attacks by the ruling Congress seeking their response on the issue. Prajwal is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for the Lok Sabha election from Hassan constituency.

The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna, the son of JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda’s elder son, is under fire after many explicit video clips allegedly involving him sexually abusing several women started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.

The Siddaramaiah government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.

Pen drives showed purported sexual acts by Prajwal Revanna with multiple women, amid allegations of mass abuse, came to the fore. Karnataka government officials said a pen drive circulated in Hassan had 2,976 videos, some a few seconds long, and some that last a few minutes. Preliminary investigations have suggested that most were shot from a mobile phone at their residences in Bengaluru and Hassan after 2019.

The Karnataka Police has information that Prajwal Revanna has left the country, according to a statement issued by the chief minister’s office, which announced the SIT probe.

The Congress has alleged that the BJP was responsible for the “escape” Prajwal Revanna. Senior Congress leader Ajoy Kumar claimed, “Revanna left India shortly after several sex scandal videos recorded by him surfaced”.

Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra, however, said his party has nothing to do with the sexual abuse allegations against the NDA candidate, and said that the law will take its own course. Vijayendra accused the ruling Congress in the state of playing “dirty politics” by targeting the BJP on the issue.

JD(S) MLA from Mulbagal in Kolar district Samruddhi V Manjunath, meanwhile, said the charges against the father-son duo have embarrassed the party workers so much that they do not wish even to take the name of their party.