Prajwal Revanna, Karnataka MP and Janata Dal Secular leader, is currently embroiled in a controversy after leaked explicit videos allegedly showing him sexually assaulting multiple women. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has initiated a probe against the leader, today wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging that the diplomatic passport of Mr Revanna be cancelled, as he has managed to leave the country despite being the key accused in the case.
Prajwal Revanna is former Prime Minister Deve Gowda's grandson. Denying the allegations, the Hassan MP said that he has informed the criminal investigation department (CID) that he is currently not in Bangalore, but will join the probe soon.
"As I am not in Bangalore to attend the enquiry, I have communicated to C.I.D Bangalore through my Advocate. Truth will prevail soon," he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
A case of sexual harassment and stalking was lodged against him on Sunday. The Karnataka government has also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which may visit Hassan - the constituency that Prajwal represents in Lok Sabha and is contesting again this time - to probe the charges.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister and Prajwal's uncle, suspended the MP after the allegations came to the fore.
The videos began circulating a day after the Phase 2 voting last Friday, in which Hassan went to polls. On Saturday, he left for Germany, and a day later, he filed a police complaint claiming that the clips were "doctored" and were distributed to "tarnish his image and poison voters' minds".
The scandal has also put pressure on the Bharatiya Janata Party who had allied with the JDS last year.
Siddaramaiah has appealed to PM Modi to cancel Mr Revanna's diplomatic passport so that he can be brought in and questioned by the probe agencies.
"Sending the impeding police case and arrest, the accused Member of Parliament and NDA candidate for Lok Sabha Prajwal Revanna has fled the country and travelled abroad. It is learnt from the reports that he is travelling abroad on his diplomatic passport," the Congress leader appealed to PM Modi in a letter today.
"While the SIT is working round the clock to investigate the allegations of crimes against several women by Prajwal Revanna, getting him back to the country is of utmost importance so that he faces investigation and trial as per the law of the land," he added.