MYSURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday accused former Prime Minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda of sending abroad his grandson and MP Prajwal Revanna, booked for his alleged involvement in the sex scandal. “What is the point of writing letters now, after sending him abroad,” asked Siddaramaiah, referring to a letter written by Gowda threatening to cut off all links with Prajwal.
Even as the letter has gone viral, Siddaramaiah took to X, stating, “It was his grandfather HD Deve Gowda who sent Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna abroad.” He charged that Prajwal would not have kept his family in the dark about his travel abroad. “(JDS state president) HD Kumaraswamy’s nephew is an accused in a rape case and has to be tried. It is not important who made or circulated the pen drive (containing obscene videos allegedly of Prajwal),” he said.
On Kumaraswamy’s demand that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar be interrogated in the Prajwal case for leaking the video tapes, Siddaramaiah said it just a tactic to dilute the case. “They must respect the law of the land. He has said his nephew is not a criminal, but an accused. I also have said he is an accused subject to be proved in court,” Siddaramaiah said.
On Kumaraswamy stating that he was not in touch with Prajwal since the beginning and not even after the latter became an MP, Siddaramaiah recalled the former chief minister campaigning for his nephew in Hassan and claiming that Prajwal is like his son. “How can he now maintain that he was not in touch with Prajwal,” he wondered.
On the central government’s delay in acting on two letters sent by the state government to cancel Prajwal’s diplomatic passport, Siddaramaiah said, “I believe that when the chief minister of an elected government writes a letter to the prime minister, he naturally replies. There was no reply to the first letter and we hope that they will respond to the second letter.”
On Kumaraswamy’s statement that the probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the state government to investigate the sex tape case, will not reach its logical end, Siddaramaiah said the government has full confidence in SIT.
‘Govt ready to hold polls to panchayats’
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the delimitation process of panchayats is over and the government, in consultation with the advocate general, will announce the reservation for seats soon after the Lok Sabha election results. He was reacting to the state Election Commission’s plans to approach courts over the delay in conducting the local body elections. He clarified that the government will hold both Bruhat Bengaluru Mahan-agara Palike and Mysuru City Corporation elections and there will be no further delay. Asked about mounting pressure to make his son Dr Yathindra a Council member, he said, “The high command did not want me to contest the Assembly election from Kolar and instead suggested that I run from the Varuna constituency. Yathindra was asked to vacate the seat. He was assured of an MLC seat. But I don’t know the high command’s decision.”