In a scathing attack on Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said its government in Karnataka knew about the obscene video allegations against suspended JD-S leader Prajwal Revanna for months but allowed him to flee as it wanted the voting for Lok Sabha polls in Vokkaliga-dominated areas in the state to conclude.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Amit Shah said Karanataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and state Home Minister G Parameshwara were responsible for Revanna fleeing the country.
Congress and some other opposition parties have attacked the BJP over Revanna leaving the country.
Hitting back, Amit Shah accused the Congress government of waiting for action until the first phase of voting in the state on April 26 due to its political calculations.
"Whose government is it in Karnataka? Congress party's. Law and order is their responsibility. They knew about it for months. But they didn't nab him until the Vokkaliga voting concluded. They let him flee. Karnataka CM, HM, Deputy CM are responsible for it," he said.
A political row has erupted over Prajwal Revanna, who has been booked by Karnataka Police in the "obscene video" case, "having left the country" and claims of some opposition parties that he had gone to a European country.
Congress and AIMIM are among the political parties who have claimed that Revanna has gone to Germany. Prajwal Revanna is the MP from Hassan and is re-contesting from the seat as a NDA candidate.
BJP and JD-S have formed an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.
Revanna was booked in an alleged sexual harassment case on April 28 following complaints by his former housekeeper.
The case has been registered under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman. As per the complaint, the victim has claimed that Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna had sexually assaulted her. Revanna is the grandson of party supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged obscene video case against Prajwal Revanna.
Earlier in the day, Prajwal Revanna made his first remarks after being booked by the Karnataka police.
The suspended JD-S leader has been asked to appear before the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
In a post on X, Revanna said, "As I am not in Bangalore to attend the inquiry, I have communicated to CID, Bangalore, through my advocate. The truth will prevail soon."
JD(S) core committee on Monday recommended the suspension of Prajwal Revanna.
Answering queries, Amit Shah also refuted Congress allegations that BJP wants to "finish Constitution" if it gets 400 plus seats in the Lok Sabha, and said Rahul Gandhi is "scared" and is "misleading" people.
"Rahul Gandhi is lying. We have had the majority for 10 years now. What did we do to the Constitution? We utilised our majority in scrapping Article 370 and triple talaq, and in strengthening the country. BJP has majority for the past 10 years. He is scared of the '400 paar' slogan and is, therefore, misleading people," he stated.
The Home Minister further stressed that BJP won't touch reservations for weaker sections. He also accused the Congress party over 'deep fake' videos pertaining his speech and said it is being done in "desperation".
"Public knows and understands everything...For 16 years (1998-2004 and 2014-2024), we didn't touch reservations. We don't want to touch it. They (Congress) are desperate so they edited my video and attempted to wrongfully present it to the people," Mr Shah said.
"They are desperate and are fearing their defeat. So, they are promoting deepfake videos," he alleged.
Voting for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka was held on April 26 and the remaining 14 seats will go for polls on May 7.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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