Janata Dal-Secular leader Suraj Revanna, the brother of Prajwal Revanna who is facing charges of sex crimes allegations by multiple women, has alleged that he is being threatened with a false case of sexual assault by a man in Karnataka’s Hassan.

The complaint has been filed by Suraj Revanna’s friend Shivkumar against two men. Shivkumar alleged that Chethan and his brother-in-law approached him and demanded Rs 5 crore, threatening that he would file a sexual abuse case against Suraj Revanna if their demands were not met.

Shivkumar said that Chethan had first approached him to help him find a job. Shivkumar gave him Suraj Revanna’s number and asked him to contact Suraj.

But he started blackmailing Shivkumar and Suraj after he failed to get a job, the complaint said.

Soon after the case was filed, Chethan also appeared on a private channel and that he had been sexually abused by Suraj at a farm house.

This comes days after former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was sent to judicial custody. The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent polls.

The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen-drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.

JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him. The BJP has distanced itself from Revanna and the investigation. Its state unit boss, S Prakash, said, “We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make…”

A police case has also been filed against his father, HD Revanna, for allegedly kidnapping a woman who said she had been raped by both men. The father, a former MLA and Public Works Department Minister, was given bail in the kidnapping case on May 14 and the sexual assault case after that.

New Delhi:

Karnataka lawmaker Prajwal Revanna – who fled to Germany last month, shortly after horrific sex crimes allegations by women who said he forced them into sexual acts – released a statement Monday, claiming comments and “political drama” by opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, “drove me to depression and I was pushed into isolation”. 

“I apologise to my parents… I was in depression. I will come (back to India) and appear before the SIT (a 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 he fled the country, Revanna posted a message on X. He said, “I am not in Bengaluru… I have communicated (to the police) through my lawyer. The truth will prevail soon.”

Revanna is a Janata Dal (Secular) leader and the grandson of party patriarch and ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, and nephew of senior leader and ex-Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

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 JDS is allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.

Revanna’s message – his first public comment on charges against him – comes after a warning from Deve Gowda, who told his grandson to return home and surrender “or face your family’s anger”.

READ | “Surrender Or Face My Anger”: Deve Gowda To Grandson Revanna

Deve Gowda said he had warned Revanna to “not test my patience” and that it took him time to recover from the “shock and pain”. The former Prime Minister – targeted by the ruling Congress, former allies turned political rivals, over claims it was he sent Revanna abroad – stressed he had called for “the harshest punishment under the law” for his grandson “if (he is) found guilty…”

I have issued a warning to @iPrajwalRevanna to return immediately from wherever he is and subject himself to the legal process. He should not test my patience any further. pic.twitter.com/kCMuNJOvAo

— H D Deve Gowda (@H_D_Devegowda) May 23, 2024

Revanna’s uncle, HD Kumaraswamy, has also made an appeal.

READ | “If You Have Respect…”: HD Kumaraswamy’s Appeal To Revanna

The ex-Chief Minister last week also appealed to his nephew. “I have openly appealed to him… told him, ‘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 was told.

READ | Deve Gowda Sent Grandson Abroad: Siddaramaiah On Ex-PM’s Letter

Revanna’s return home may be complicated by the fact the Ministry of External Affairs is set to cancel his diplomatic passport. A request to this effect has been made by the state government.

The centre is in the process of cancelling the travel document, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Mr Jaishankar also took the chance for a jibe against Karnataka’s ruling Congress, declaring the request to cancel the passport was made only on May 21, several days after the scandal broke.

NDTV Analysis | Systemic Failure In Not Forcing Revanna To Face Law

The Congress and the BJP have attacked each other over the Revanna case.

The former has pointed to the alliance between the BJP and the JDS to claim Prajwal Revanna is being shielded, while the latter has criticised the state government for delayed reactions.

Prajwal Revanna – who faces an arrest warrant from a MP/MLA court – has denied all charges.

New Delhi:

BJP leader G Devaraje Gowda was late Friday taken into custody in connection with a sexual assault case. He was taken into custody near Hiriyur while he was traveling from Bengaluru toward Chitradurga, police said.

A case of sexual harassment was registered against Devaraje Gowda on a complaint by a 36-year-old woman, who alleged that he molested her on the pretext of helping her sell her property.

Gowda, who contested the 2023 Karnataka assembly election against Prajwal’s father and Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna, is also accused of leaking videos of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse of several women. He, however, has blamed the Congress for leaking the videos.

Gowda had also alerted the BJP leadership last year about Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse and asked the party not to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the JD(S) leader from Hassan. The BJP, which formed an alliance with the JD(S) last year, however, decided to field Prajwal from Hassan.

The sex scandal had come to the fore a day after the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency went to the polls on April 26. Videos began doing the rounds showing multiple women being sexually assaulted. The 33-year-old politician can also allegedly be seen sexually abusing women in some of the videos. 

Prajwal Revanna, who is the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, left for Germany the day the videos emerged, and was later suspended by the JD(S). A blue corner notice, which asks Interpol member states to help locate a person, has been issued against him.

Three FIRs, including charges of rape, molestation, intimidation, blackmailing, and threatening, have been registered against him.

His father, HD Revanna, is currently in jail on charges of kidnapping a woman, a mother of three.

Mandya (Karnataka):

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has said he is sincerely working for NDA’s better prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and the continuation of alliance with BJP, after the parliamentary elections, will depend on how his party and its leaders are treated.

The former Chief Minister further said that given an opportunity and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi has confidence in him, he wants to be the agriculture minister, in the event of NDA coming back to power at the Centre.

In an exclusive interview to PTI Videos, after filing his nomination from Mandya on Thursday, the state JD(S) President said: “We being part of the NDA depends on how our party leaders are treated in the future. We are sincerely working and we want a long-standing relationship with BJP. But ultimately we will take a decision depending on how we are treated and how much respect we get from the BJP.”

JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year.

As part of the seat-sharing agreement, the BJP would contest in 25 constituencies and the JD(S) in the remaining three — Mandya, Hassan and Kolar — in Karnataka.

Mr Kumaraswamy, son of Gowda, made no secret of his desire to become Union Agriculture Minister.

“It is not only the aspirations of people of Mandya to see me as union minister, even my BJP friends feel that it will be good for the state if I become a minister. I come from an agricultural background and given an opportunity I want to be the agriculture minister and bring a good name for the government. If the Prime Minister believes that I can do good work and if I am given an opportunity I want to work in the agricultural sector,” he said.

The JD(S) leader, who is an MLA from Channapatna in the neighbouring Ramanagara district, said he was under a lot of pressure from the people of Mandya to contest from there.

“We have entered into an alliance with BJP to fight for better prospects for Karnataka and not for political survival. It is going to be mutually beneficial for both the BJP and JD(S). The Congress took advantage of the vote-split between us in the last (Assembly) election, we realised the mistake and we have decided to fight the Congress together,” he said.

Stating that it is BJP which is the “natural ally” of JD(S) and not the Congress, Mr Kumaraswamy said his party has always fought the grand old party for the last 50 years.

“Our last alliance with BJP (for 20 months from January 2006), when I was the Chief Minister was a good period and because of some misunderstanding and some misdeeds of miscreants we had to part ways,” he said, adding that leaders of parties and cadres are now sincerely working for each other.

“This time around there is a lot of positivity, energy and synergy between us. Be it (B S) Yediyurappa (BJP veteran) or Deve Gowda (JDS patriarch) or be it any of us. We all are working for each other to see to it that the NDA alliance gets all the 28 seats in Karnataka,” he added.

Mr Kumaraswamy also said the Congress in Karnataka had messed up the state’s finances because of its guarantee schemes and the government doesn’t have any funds for capital expenditure or development.

“Having mismanaged the finances now they are pointing fingers at the Centre over discrepancy in refund of GST and other grants,” he alleged. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

A case has been registered against D Kupendra Reddy, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader contesting the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka, and his aides at the Vidhana Soudha police station in Bengaluru, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too confirmed that an FIR has been registered for “threatening” the Congress MLAs in connection with the Rajya Sabha elections.

“The Congress leaders not only spoke about allurement and threat to MLAs time and again but also registered an FIR against Kupendra Reddy and his aides,” Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

The JDS leader said the complainant MLA did not say that he was lured, but that some other MLAs were “approached”.

“Melukote MLA Darshan Puttannaiah of Karnataka Sarvodaya Paksha too had said that it’s true that his vote was sought but no one had lured him,” the JDS state chief claimed.

Mr Kumaraswamy also said the BJP and JDS had decided that the votes of 19 JDS MLAs and the additional BJP votes after its first preferential votes would go to Kupendra Reddy.

Mr Siddaramaiah slammed the Janata Dal (Secular) for allegedly trying to lure Congress legislators to get its candidate Kupendra Reddy elected.

“JDS needs 45 votes (for their candidate) to win. Do they have that many votes? Even though they don’t have enough votes, they still fielded the candidate and are luring our MLAs. Do they have a conscience?” the chief minister asked in a post on social media platform X.

“An FIR has been lodged regarding the threat to us. Our three candidates will win. There is no doubt about this,” Mr Siddaramaiah insisted, without elaborating who the FIR is against and where it has been registered.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha here, the chief minister slammed the minor partner in the opposition alliance, saying, “When JDS does not have ‘atma’ (soul), how can it have ‘atma sakshi’ (conscience)? They call themselves Janata Dal (Secular) but whom did they join with?”

He was referring to the JDS forming an alliance with the BJP.

The chief minister did not rule out the possibility of gaining votes from the rival camp saying the good works of his government may draw votes from the other side.

On the JDS allegations that the Congress had approached its party MLAs, Mr Siddaramaiah said when the Congress has a sufficient number of MLAs, there is no need to lure legislators from the opposition.

Voting is underway for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka. The ruling Congress has fielded former union minister and Congress treasurer Ajay Maken and sitting Rajya Sabha members GC Chandrashekhar and Syed Naseer Hussain.

The BJP has fielded Narayansa Bhandage and also JD(S) leader Kupendra Reddy as the NDA candidate.

The Congress has 133 MLAs, excluding the Speaker, while the BJP and JD(S) have 66 and 19 legislators respectively, in the 223-member House. Others account for four. A Congress MLA died on Sunday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

After the Janata Dal (Secular) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Congress on Friday said the “B-team of the BJP” in Karnataka has officially become part of the coalition.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said their assertion made during the recent Karnataka assembly poll campaign in this regard has been vindicated today.

“What the Congress had repeatedly said throughout the Karnataka election campaign has been officially vindicated today. The B-team of the BJP in the state – JD(S) – has officially become part of the NDA, that too a day following the most nakedly communal attack by a BJP MP on a former senior JD(S) leader in the Lok Sabha,” Mr Ramesh said on X.

Mr Ramesh was referring to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s objectionable remarks against Danish Ali, who is now in the Bahujan Samaj Party.

In a boost to the BJP in Karnataka ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the JD(S) decided to ally with the party following a meeting of its leader HD Kumaraswamy with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.

After the meeting, Mr Nadda said on X, “I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA. This will further strengthen NDA and vision of Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji for ‘New India, Strong India’.” 

Headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, the JD(S) has long been a strong third player in the southern state where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties. The regional party came third in the recent assembly polls in the state, where the Congress scored a big win. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bangalore:

Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who has recovered from a stroke due to timely treatment, said on Sunday that this was his “third birth”.

Giving credit to God and the team of doctors who treated him, the JD(S) second-in-command said he got a new lease of life to be amidst the people of the state.

Before being discharged, Mr Kumaraswamy also appealed to the people not to take the symptoms of stroke and paralysis lightly.

“For the past five days, some of my friends were in fear. If I am talking to you, then I must say that I got a rebirth,” the former chief minister said.

“With regard to my health, God has given me a third birth. If a person gets one birth, in my case I am of the opinion that in my 64 years of age, I got my third birth,” he added.

Mr Kumaraswamy was hospitalised in the early hours of August 30 at a reputed hospital in the city.

Doctors treating him said he had had a stroke, which was then cured completely.

Recalling the turn of events that led to his hospitalisation, the JD(S) leader said he woke up at about 2 am on August 30 and felt his health was not in good condition.

The JD(S) leader said he quickly called his brother-in-law and eminent cardiologist Dr C N Manjunath and later consulted a neurologist who advised him to get admitted.

Mr Kumaraswamy appealed to the people of the state not to waste even a single minute whenever they come across such symptoms.

“I sensed the symptoms of paralysis at 2 am. If had ignored it and said I will go to the doctor in the morning, I would have spent the rest of my life permanently on the bed,” he said.

He said never think that doctors are working to make money because when the patient comes, they sincerely make an effort to save them.

Speaking on the occasion, eminent neurologist and former director of NIMHANS Dr P Satishchandra said people should be aware of the ‘BE-FAST’ method to detect a stroke — where B stands for Balance, E for Eyes, F for Face, A for Arms, S for Speech and T for Time.

“These are the five symptoms. If there is less strength in the arm, if one lisps or stammers, if there is difficulty in eyes, if there are changes in the face, then without wasting time rush to a hospital,” he said.

It is also important to take the patient to the right hospital, Dr Satishchandra added. He said the hospital where the patient is taken should be stroke ready.

“It should be a hospital which has all the equipment and experts required for treating stroke patients. Then we get the time. We call it the ‘golden hour’, which means the patient should be brought within three hours. Once the patient is brought within three hours, we get one hour to start our other works,” the doctor explained. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)