Janata Dal (Secular) suspended Prajwal Revanna, the party’s MP in Hassan who has been accused of sexually exploiting several women. The decision was announced after a meeting of the party’s core committee in Hubballi on April 30.
Pen drives that show alleged acts of sexual exploitation have been in circulation in Hassan even prior to elections on April 26, embarrassing the party.
Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, and the nephew of former Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. The 33-year-old is the NDA candidate in Hassan with the JD(S) contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP.
Was BJP aware of allegations against Hassan MP?
The party has been under pressure to take action against the MP, whose alleged acts are now being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government. In the letter announcing his suspension, the party stated that the videos doing the rounds have ‘caused considerable damage to party’s dignity and leadership’.
Prajwal Revanna is believed to be out of India. Opposition members are asking how was he allowed to leave the country.
Prajwal Revanna and his father H.D. Revanna, a JD(S) MLA representing Holenarasipur in Hassan district, were booked on April 28 by the police for alleged sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint by a woman who worked in their household. This case and other complaints that might come up in relation to the videos will all be under the ambit of the SIT probe.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has been trying to distance himself and his father from the family of his elder brother H.D. Revanna, in an attempt to minimise the damage caused to the party.
