Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first public remarks on the sexual assault allegations against the now-suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, asserted a “zero tolerance” stance towards such individuals. During an interview with Times Now, he also criticized the Congress party, questioning the timing of the video releases.
He stated that the responsibility for handling such a law and order issue lies with the state government where the incident occurred. He emphasized that, from his perspective, from the BJP’s standpoint, and in accordance with the Constitution, there should be “zero tolerance” for such individuals, and they should face severe punishment under all available legal provisions.
Prajwal Revanna, grandson of JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda and the Hassan MP and Lok Sabha candidate, has been accused of sexually assaulting several women. Multiple videos of these incidents surfaced after the first phase of polling in the state. His father, H D Revanna, the Holenarasipur MLA, was also implicated and subsequently arrested on kidnapping charges.
While Prajwal has been suspended from the party pending a determination of his guilt, he is currently absconding and reportedly in Germany on a diplomatic passport. His father continues to assert their innocence and has labeled the allegations as politically motivated. The JD(S) and BJP have formed an alliance in the state for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
PM Modi, noting the large number of videos implicating Revanna, suggested that the timeline extends beyond the tenure of the BJP government in Karnataka. He implied that the videos were collected during the time when JD(S) was in alliance with the Congress, and then released during the election after a specific community, the Vokkaligas, had voted.
He expressed suspicion over the release of the videos after the accused had left the country, criticizing the lack of vigilance at the airport and the failure to inform the Central government. He labeled this as a political tactic, asserting that the videos were accumulated during the time of the JD(S)-Congress alliance.
PM Modi emphasized that the primary concern now is to bring the accused back to India to face the charges and consequences of his actions. He concluded by stating, “My issue is that any culprit should not be spared. This should stop in our country. We should bring him back and strict action should be taken against him. There should be no ifs and buts.”
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