Bengaluru. Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD-S state president H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday alleged that the Congress government circulated pen drives containing videos of sexual harassment of women allegedly by his nephew and sitting party MP from Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, through police officials amid the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Absconding Prajwal Revanna, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s grandson.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy claimed that the distribution of pen drives on April 21 was not limited to Hassan Lok Sabha constituency only as they were systematically circulated in Mandya and Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seats. Kumaraswamy also claimed that more than 25,000 pen drives were distributed through police officials to defeat JD(S) candidates in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Kumaraswamy is the NDA candidate from Mandya, while C.N. Manjunath, H.D. He is the son-in-law of Deve Gowda. He is contesting from Bengaluru Rural seat on BJP ticket against Congress’s D.K. He is contesting against Suresh, who is the younger brother of Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar. Kumaraswamy also claimed that he was not trying to save anyone in the case as the culprits should be punished without any compromise.
A police complaint has been filed against a JD-S polling agent for allegedly making the contents of the pen drive public, which also names four others – Naveen Gowda, Karthik Gowda, Chetan and Putti alias Puttaraju. Kumaraswamy said, although the complaint was filed 15 days ago, the SIT did not bother to call him for questioning.
Meanwhile, GT JD-S core committee chief Deve Gowda held a press conference in Mysuru on Tuesday in which he warned that if D.K. If Shivakumar is not dismissed from the cabinet or he does not resign from the post of Deputy CM, JD-S will start protests across Karnataka.
Claiming that the SIT cannot ensure a fair investigation of the case, he said, “This government will not agree to transfer the case to the CBI. Therefore, we demand a judicial inquiry into this matter.” He claimed that the statements of Congress leaders confirm Shivakumar’s role in the case.
MLA HD A case has been registered against Revanna and her son Prajwal for molesting their domestic help. In another case, Revanna has been booked for kidnapping a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal. A case of rape has also been registered against Prajwal. Police has arrested Revanna.
Tags: Congress, DK Shivakumar, hd kumaraswamy, JDS, Karnataka
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 7, 2024, 23:06 IST