MP's sex abuse videos kick up political storm in India's Karnataka

PRAJWAL REVANNA, a member of parliament from Hassan in the southern state of Karnataka, is facing a political storm after the leak of explicit videos allegedly showing him sexually assaulting multiple women.

The 33-year-old belongs to a prominent political family that runs a regional political party - Janata Dal Secular, a Karnataka-centric outfit.

His grandfather HD Deve Gowda was the former prime minister and the chief minister of Karnakata state, while his uncle HD Kumaraswamy was also the state chief minister.

JD (S) had recently got into a seat-sharing arrangement with prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party to contest some seats in Karnataka for the ongoing general election.

The BJP had chosen this regional party hoping to leverage its clout to win more seats in the state. In 2019, BJP had won 25 out of 28 parliamentary seats in the state.

Prajwal was chosen as the BJP-JD(S) joint candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, where the voting was held on April 26.

However, a few days before the poll a pen drive containing the purported videos surfaced. A social organisation in the state filed a complaint with the State Women's Commission.

The commission chairperson wrote to the CM and the state police chief regarding the allegations against Prajwal.

Prajwal reportedly fled the country after the polling in his constituency was over and media reports claim he is in Germany.

The Karnataka government, headed by Siddramaiah of the Congress party, ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to investigate the incident.

The JD(S) on Tuesday suspended Revanna from the party till the probe is completed.

Siddaramaiah wrote to prime minister on Wednesday, urging the central government to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport and take measures to ensure his return by making use of diplomatic and police channels.

Meanwhile, Prajwal, through his lawyer, has sought seven days to appear before the investigation team.

Video leak

Prajwal's former driver Karthik Gowda was the first to get hold of the sex videos.

He claimed that he only shared it with the BJP leader Devaraje Gowda.

But Gowda claims that Congress party leaders DK Shivakumar, who is the deputy chief minister of the state, and his brother DK Suresh, a member of parliament, already had the video and leaked them.

Karthik has denied sharing the video with any Congress party leader.

Both Shivakumar and Suresh have denied any involvement in the leak of videos.

Blame game

As the scandal broke out amid electioneering, it has kicked up a political slugfest.

Congress party leaders have accused the ruling BJP of helping Prajwal flee the country.

Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been raising the issue during her election rallies across the country and is accusing the BJP of connivance.

However, the BJP is accusing the Congress party government in Karnataka state of not taking timely action.

Union home minister Amit Shah and other top BJP leaders questioned the Karnataka government for not taking prompt action against Prajwal when law and order is a state subject.

The current scandal is expected to severely dent the poll prospects of JD(S) and its alliance partner BJP in the state.