Congress demands arrest of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna over alleged sex scandal

Members of the women’s wing of the Congress on Sunday staged a protest in Bengaluru against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is embroiled in an alleged sex scandal, and demanded his immediate arrest.

Raising slogans against the 33-year-old, who is the grandson of Janata Dal (Secular) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, the protesters burned his posters and sought a thorough inquiry into the case.

Revanna was the NDA candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on 26 April. Several sex videos allegedly featuring him with multiple women have been doing the rounds in recent days.

Demanding his immediate arrest, a Congress leader said: "He (Prajwal Revanna) should be given severe punishment and should be hanged for what he has done with these women. It has brought down the honour of the entire state of Karnataka."

In a post on X, Congress MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "The Hassan video has shocked the conscience of not only the district and the State but also the nation. ⁠Prajwal Revanna, a sitting JD(S-anghi) Member of Parliament and the NDA candidates for Hassan Lok Sabha, has been accused of creating thousands of sexually explicit videos of women.

"The videos were then distributed by pen drive across the district, much to the distress of the victims, some of whom have attempted to take their own lives. The fact that these videos existed was known — Prajwal had a court ordered stay to gag the media from exposing this depravity. An Ex MLA from Hassan had even written to his own party leadership stating that they shouldn’t support this MP because of his proclivities.

"Rather than prioritising justice for the women, the NDA has systematically suppressed the scandal till polling. According to latest reports, the MP has now fled the country. Why has the PM, so often delivering platitudes on Mahila Samman and Nari Shakti, endorsed Prajwal Revanna despite being aware of his crimes?"

The Karnataka government has announced a special investigation team to probe the "obscene videos case".

"Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted," chief minister Siddaramaiah said. Meanwhile, police sources said Revanna has left the country.

In a related X post, the national Congress party has said, "Thousands of pornographic videos of H.D. Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna have surfaced. A pen drive full of pornographic videos has revealed that MP and NDA candidate Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulted thousands of women and recorded objectionable videos of them. This incident is extremely shocking and a blot on civilised society.

"The most shocking thing is that the BJP was aware of this sexual harassment and obscene videos. But immersed in its greed for power, the BJP closed its eyes and gave a ticket to the rapist who has tarnished the dignity of women. Today again, the truth about Narendra Modi and the BJP, who pretend to respect women, has been exposed before the country."

With inputs from PTI