Karnataka sex crimes case: Prajwal Revanna, the Janata Dal Secular MP from Karnataka’s Hassan Lok Sabha seat, has been nominated to defend his seat in the 2024 general election.
New Delhi: Karnataka lawmaker Prajwal Revanna, who fled to Germany last month after being accused of horrific sex crimes, released a statement on Monday. He claimed that comments and “political drama” by opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, “drove me to depression and I was pushed into isolation.”
“I apologize to my parents… I was in depression. I will come back to India and appear before the SIT (Special Investigative Team set up by the state government) on May 31 (Friday),” Revanna said.
“I will cooperate to the best of my abilities and provide all answers. I have full faith in the legal system and I will come out of these false cases against me. I have the blessings of God and my family…”
On May 1, four days after fleeing the country, Revanna posted a message on X, stating, “I am not in Bengaluru… I have communicated with the police through my lawyer. The truth will prevail soon.”
Revanna is a Janata Dal (Secular) leader and the grandson of party patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. He is also the sitting MP from Karnataka’s Hassan Lok Sabha seat, which he has been nominated to defend in the 2024 general election. The JD(S) is allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
Revanna’s statement is his first public comment on the charges against him. It comes after a warning from Deve Gowda, who told his grandson to return home and surrender “or face your family’s anger.”
Deve Gowda warned Revanna not to “test my patience” and expressed that it took him time to recover from the “shock and pain.” The former Prime Minister, targeted by the ruling Congress and former allies turned political rivals over claims he sent Revanna abroad, stressed he had called for “the harshest punishment under the law” for his grandson “if found guilty…”
Revanna’s uncle, HD Kumaraswamy, has also appealed to him, saying, “If you have respect for the party and Deve Gowda, come back. Cooperate with the probe. If you have not done anything, prove it. If you have, then face the punishment.”
Revanna’s return home may be complicated by the Ministry of External Affairs’ plans to cancel his diplomatic passport. The state government has requested this action, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has confirmed the process is underway. Jaishankar also criticized the ruling Congress in Karnataka, noting the request to cancel the passport was made only on May 21, several days after the scandal broke.
