• Source:JND
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Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and a Janta Dal (Secular) leader, has been tangled in a row after several obscene videos allegedly showing him in explicit acts with multiple women, emerged. The viral videos surfaced on social media a day after Hassan constituency, represented by Revanna, went to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Since then the controversy has led to widespread condemnation and protests, with voices demanding stern action against the Hassan MP. The government of Karnataka, on the instance of the state's women's commission, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the command of senior IPS officers to probe the alleged sex scandal.

Prajwal Revanna, who left the country a day after the polling in Hassan constituency, has denied all the allegations against him, claiming that the shared videos are morphed. He has also filed a police case in the matter.

What are the accusations against Prajwal Revanna

Prajwal has been linked with the viral videos doing rounds in Hassan. The explicit videos, showing sexual acts, have been reportedly shot by the MP himself, according to an NDTV report.

Soon after the videos emerged, a woman filed a police case accusing Prajwal and his father, HD Revanna of sexual assault. She has claimed that she has been raped multiple times between 2019 to 2022.

Not only this the woman further alleged that Prajwal Revanna forced her daughter to have a 'vulgar conversation' with him and misbehaved with her too. In her complaint she has also levelled serious accusations against HD Revanna, Prajwal's father, stating that he also sexually assaulted her at his residence in the absence of his wife.

Earlier on April 29, on being questioned about the allegations against the duo, HD Revanna tried to defend his son saying that 4-5 years old clips had been shared as part of a conspiracy.

A BJP leader's "explosive" disclosure

As the obscene videos rocked the state, Devaraje Gowda, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and party candidate from Holenarsipura in the 2023 assembly election, has made startling revelations in the whole case. He has claimed that he had told then-state BJP president BY Vijayendra in December last year about the 'serious allegations' against the Deve Gowda family, including the scion - Prajwal Revanna.

He said that he received a USB drive with 2,976 explicit videos of women. Those videos were used to threaten the women, making them engage in further sexual acts.

"If we align with the JD(S) and if we nominate a JD(S) candidate in Hassan for the Lok Sabha elections, these videos can be used as a brahmastra and we will be tainted as a party that aligned with the family of a rapist. This will be a big blow to the image of our party nationally," Devaraje Gowdahad wrote in the letter.

Prajwal Revanna: MP, Heir and 'accused'

Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda, has been fielded by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as a candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. The voting for this constituency took place on April 26 in the second phase. The Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), aligned with the NDA in September of the last year.

On Saturday morning, the 33-year-old Prajwal left for Germany, shortly after videos surfaced online.

Prajwal's father, HD Revanna, who is also implicated in a case initiated by their former house help, currently serves as the MLA for the Holenarasipur constituency.

A political slugfest erupts in Karnataka

The allegations against the Deve Gowda family have rocked the political corridors of not just the state but the nation. Unable to mend the headwind, Janata Dal (Secular) has distanced itself from the father-son duo and called a meeting of the core group of the party to decide on the future of Prajwal.

Congress, seeking a revival amid the Lok Sabha polls, initiated a vehement attack against the JDS and Deve Gowda family. The party has also attacked PM Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party in the case.

"On Dec 13, 2023, Modi’s leader BJP Devaraj Gowda wrote to the PM, the BJP president, and the local BJP unit, talking about pen drives and Revanna’s sexual misconduct," it alleged in an X post.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party has distanced itself from Prajwal Revanna amid the controversy around his alleged sex tapes.

"We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make on the SIT probe announced by the state government into the alleged sex scandal involving Prajwal Revanna," BJP state spokesperson S Prakash said.