The JD(S) will convene a core committee meeting on Tuesday which will recommend the suspension of Prajwal Revanna MP over sexual abuse allegations. JD(S) state unit chief and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said the decision will have to be made by the party’s national president and his father H D Devegowda.
Facing an attack from Congress after a pen drive containing over 2000 videos of Prajwal Revanna abusing women leaked, Kumaraswamy had sought to distance himself from his nephew and brother H D Revanna, who was also booked for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
Prajwal (33) is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for the Lok Sabha election Hassan, which went to the polls on Friday.
“A decision has already been made. The recommendation will be made at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he (Prajwal) is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I requested Deve Gowda, who is the party’s national president, to do so. Neither he (Gowda) nor I were aware of this issue,” Kumaraswamy claimed.
“Some issues have come out, based on that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend (him). But many were in a hurry.”
On Monday, Kumaraswamy told reporters that he wasn’t bothered about Prajwal and he would face legal action if he committed the crime. He told ANI that circulating the pen drive too was a criminal offence because it amounted to character assailing of the victims.
“The government has already announced the formation of SIT. Now, it is their responsibility. I am not bothered about Prajwal Revanna, he has to face the law if he did something illegal. I don’t want to protect him as our family member,” he said.
He said the SIT also has to find the person responsible for circulating the pen drives. “They have circulated those pen drives to finish our alliance and reduce our winning chances. It is not going to affect the election of candidates,” he told ANI.
Kumaraswamy said some opposition leaders and a BJP leader were behind circulating the pen drives because they knew they had no chances in Hassan. “So before going to the polls, they decided to circulate some pen drives about Prajwal Revanna. I do not know whether they were fake or genuine.
They tried to malign him, Deve Gowda and our family. They wanted to destroy our image. For that reason, they misused the power of the government. A senior minister is behind this with some BJP leaders in Hassan. Let us see and wait for the results from the SIT,” Kumaraswamy said, adding that the controversy won’t affect the elections.
He told reporters that his family was separate from H D Revanna’s family. “Our dealings are separate. Revanna, his wife and their two children live in Hassan separately,” he told reporters, saying he was urging the Congress leaders not to drag his family name into this.
On Prajwal fleeing India, Kumaraswamy said he could have prevented the journey if he had known it. He added that it was impossible to monitor the movement of children every time.
