BENGALURU: Vokkaliga ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet on Wednesday rushed to defend Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President DK Shivakumar, who has come under fire from JDS and BJP leaders over his alleged role in the circulation of videos in JDS MP Prajwal Revanna’s sex scandal.
The BJP-JDS leaders are also demanding that the State government hand over the probe to the CBI.
Addressing a joint press conference, ministers Krishna Byregowda, R Ramalinga Reddy, N Chaluvaraya Swamy and Dr MC Sudhakar accused the JDS-BJP leaders of trying to divert attention from the main issue of rape and sexual harassment of several women and providing justice to the victims.
Terming it the world’s biggest sex scandal, Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda said it is a conspiracy to divert attention from the probe to protect the main accused, Prajwal Revanna. He questioned if any member of former PM HD Deve Gowda’s family had condemned the crimes committed by Prajwal. He said that BJP leader Devaraje Gowda, who is also a lawyer, got the evidence from a person working with the accused.
“He should have given it to the state police chief or Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court,” Byregowda said. “Instead, Devaraje Gowda met JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. Let them come to Hasanamba temple and reveal what was discussed between them.”
Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar accused JDS and BJP leaders of trying to discredit the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case, and hoping the case would be handed over to the CBI so it can go into cold storage.
On the BJP’s allegations that the government did not stop Prajwal from travelling abroad, the minister said there was no cause for action when he left the country. JDS leaders have launched a scathing attack on DCM Shivakumar and accused him of conspiring to circulate the pen drive. Kumaraswamy has demanded that he be dropped from the ministry.