BENGALURU: Hitting out at BJP leaders, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar wanted to know why they are keeping mum on NDA candidate Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual assault videos. BJP leaders have to make their stand clear, he said, seeking answers from Shobha Karandlaje, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, CT Ravi, Basavaraj Bommai, Jagadish Shettar and others. “Where are they now?” asked Shivakumar.
With BJP and JDS leaders making allegations against Shivakumar and the State government for not taking action against Prajwal Revanna, despite knowing about the scandal, Shivakumar said if they had known earlier, they would have acted.
He told reporters on Tuesday that the SIT is probing the case, and the government has given full powers to the investigating officers.
Taking a swipe at the Gowda family, Shivakumar said, “Kumaraswamy says he (Prajwal) is not his family member. HD Revanna is saying it’s an old video. It’s not about old or new, he has admitted there was a video. Kumaraswamy also admitted he had information on it, and that he had told his father Deve Gowda not to give Prajwal the Hassan ticket. Even local BJP leader Devaraje Gowda had written to Deve Gowda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and alerted them about these videos many months ago.”
Shivakumar said he is worried about the vulnerable women, who need protection. “The identity of these women has to be kept confidential, and at the same time, truth has to come out. There are more than 3,000 videos and photos, and all the cases are related to Hassan,” he said. The scandal will impact over 300 families and is a question of the women’s dignity, and includes some family members of JDS workers too, he added.
Asked about Devarajegowda’s allegation that the pen drive details were available with Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh, the DCM said, “I don’t indulge in cheap games, but believe in electoral politics. I don’t keep CDs and indulge in blackmail.”
Slamming Union Home Minister Amit Shah for alleging that women in Karnataka are not getting justice, Shivakumar said when a photograph was clicked in an Udupi college, the Centre had sent the National Women’s Commission to conduct a probe. “When a girl was murdered in Hubballi, we entrusted the case to the CID. We are waiting for PM Modi and BJP leaders to speak on this issue,” he said.
