No political clearance was given for Prajwal Revanna’s Germany visit: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday stated that “no political clearance” was either sought or issued to Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna for visiting Germany who left the country soon after reports emerged of his involvement in a sex scandal.

Prajwal, grandson of former prime minister HD Devegowda had left for Germany on Saturday on diplomatic passport, a day after voting for the Lok Sabha elections had taken place in the constituency. 

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing on Thursday, "No political clearance was either sought from or issued by the MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany. Obviously, no visa note was issued either.”

“No visa is required for diplomatic passport holders to travel to Germany,” he said.
On Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked for the cancellation of Prajwal’s diplomatic passport and the initiation of other necessary steps to ensure his swift return. 

He left the country the same day when the videos of the alleged sexual assault began circulating online. Close to 3000 videos have gone viral in which he can allegedly be seen sexually assaulting multiple women. The political row over sex scandal-accused Janata Dal (Secular) MP Revanna has led to his suspension from the party.

Prajwal on Wednesday sought seven days to appear for questioning before Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government. The SIT has rejected his request and issued a lookout circular against Prajwal.

The controversy comes at a time when Lok Sabha elections are underway. Out of the 28 parliamentary seats in  Karnataka, as many as 14, including Hassan, voted in the second of the seven-phase nationwide polling, while the remaining 14 will vote in the third phase on May 7.

In the JD(S)-BJP partnership, the former has been given three seats (Hassan, Kolar, Mandya) and the BJP has fielded candidates on the remaining 25 constituencies.