Prajwal Revanna Obscene Videos: How Pen Drives Brought The Karnataka Scandal To Light

NEW DELHI: A political slugfest has begun between the Congress and the BJP over the ''sexual abuse'' allegations being levelled against Prajwal Revanna, the sitting MP and NDA candidate from Karnataka's Hassan constituency for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has been making headlines after some explicit videos allegedly showing him sexually abusing several women surfaced online.

Revanna has, meanwhile, fled to Germany after the Karnataka government formed an SIT to investigate the matter. The BJP, on its part, has welcomed the JD(S) decision to suspend MP Prajwal Revanna over allegations of sexual abuse, asserting that it will push for the full might of the law against him.

The saffron party has also launched a fierce counter-attack on Congress for "delayed" action by the Karnataka government. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP leaders questioned the Congress government in Karnataka as to why it did not take action against Prajwal when law and order is a state subject.

The Karnataka Police on Sunday booked Prajwal Revanna and his father H D Revanna on charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household. 

What's In The Pen Drives?

Hundreds of explicit videos purportedly filmed by Prajwal Revanna have been circulating in Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. This has sparked questions about where these videos came from and who spread them. G Devaraje Gowda, a local leader from the BJP, has claimed that he got hold of these videos through Prajwal's ex-driver, Karthik Gowda. Devaraje has claimed that he obtained those videos while helping Karthik in a legal issue against the Revanna family.

In a letter to the state BJP chief BY Vijayendra, Devaraje had urged against giving Prajwal a ticket for the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, fearing it could harm the party's image. He also alleged that Congress leaders had those videos in their possession.

Devaraje also wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, warning him about the potential misuse of these tapes during the elections. Karthik Gowda, however, denies giving the pen drives to Congress leaders, contradicting Devaraje's claim. He has claimed that he has given those pen drives seeking legal help from Devaraje but the latter didn't help.

Amidst accusations and blame games, top JD(S) leaders like GT Devegowda and HD Kumaraswamy have questioned the timing and motives behind the release of these videos just before the elections. On the other hand, the Congress government in Karnataka formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged scandal.