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Prajwal Revanna sexual violence case: Arrest warrant against Revanna issued by court, JD(S) decries political conspiracy

sabrang — Mon, 20 May 2024 07:37:59 +0000

A long-awaited move in the Prajwal Revanna sexual violence case was reported on May 19 with a special court for MPs and MLAs in Bengaluru issuing an arrest warrant against the sitting Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna. The said development came in the in the sexual assault case that has been filed against Revanna, who is at present absconding and is in Germany on a diplomatic passport, in which his father and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna is also an accused.

The move followed an application by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was formed to investigate Prajwal’s alleged atrocities on women, as per local media reports. The said SIT had been formed on the recommendations of Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary.

Previously, a Blue Corner notice had been issued against Prajwal Revanna. A blue notice permits Interpol to gather details regarding an individual’s identity, whereabouts, or actions linked to a criminal inquiry. Karnataka Home Minister, G Parameshwara had earlier provided that the state government has requested Interpol’s help in repatriating Revanna, as per a report of the Hindu.

Brief background of the case:

Electronic devices like pen drives and CDs had emerged in the public domain on April 21, ahead of the April 26 Hassan parliament poll, which had suggested that Prajwal Revanna, the Hassan MP, had allegedly carried out sexual assaults on several women in Hassan and recorded the attacks on his phone camera. It is to be noted that as many as 2,900 files with videos and images of the sexual encounters of the MP were found in the pen drives that were leaked. A helpline had also been set up by the SIT to report incidents of attack by the MP. At present, a total of three cases of sexual assault have been registered by three women against Prajwal Revanna.

On May 13, JD(S) leader and Karnataka Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) HD Revanna was granted conditional bail by Bengaluru court. The said bail was granted by the Special court in connection with a kidnapping case linked to sexual abuse allegation against him and his son Prajwal. The said MLA had spent after seven days in jail after four-day police custody. While granting bail, Judge Santhosh Gajanana Bhat had imposed conditions that required the accused to furnish a bond for Rs 5 lakh, along with two sureties. In addition to this, H D Revanna has been barred from leaving the country, entering KR Nagar in Mysuru district, and interacting with the witnesses. He has also been asked to cooperate with the SIT investigation.

Blame games and leaked audios- political angle to a case of sexual violence against women

Reaction of Janata Dal (Secular) party supremo Deve Gowda: Since the breaking out of this news, a deafening silence had been maintained by many. Finally, on Saturday, H. D. Gowda broke his silence over the charges levelled against Revanna and stated that he has no objection if action is taken against his grandson in such case that he is found guilty.

However, H.D. Gowda maintained his stance that the said case as well as the allegations levied against his son and grandson are false and fabricated. As per a report of the Hindu, H.D. Gowda stated that “… I don’t want to comment on things that are going on in the court regarding Revanna. Prajwal Revanna has gone abroad, regarding that Kumaraswamy (Gowda’s other son and state JD(S) chief) has on behalf of our family said it is the duty of the government to take action in accordance with the law of the land.”

Furthermore, he said that “There are several people connected to this (sexual abuse cases), I don’t want to take anyone’s names. Kumaraswamy has said that for those who are involved in this matter, action should be taken against all of them, and the affected women should get justice and compensation. There is no objection from us for taking action against Prajwal. But people have come to know (facts) about the allegations made against Revanna, and how the case has been created. In one case he has got the bail, in another case, there is a judgment the day after tomorrow… I don’t want to comment on it.”

Leaked audio suggests political angle: On May 19, a new audio went viral in which two BJP party leaders can be heard having a conversation regarding leaking of the now leaked videos and the consequences it might have on the survivors’/victims. L.R. Shivarame Gowda (BJP) is allegedly heard trying to convince Devaraje Gowda (BJP) to distribute pen drives containing the obscene videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna. As per multiple media reports, during the said conversation, L.R. Shivarame Gowda (BJP) was asking Mr. Devaraje Gowda to “distribute the pen drives and pass on the blame for it on former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy [JD(S)] as a case of the latter wanting to promote his son.”

As per a report of the Hindu, in the audio, L.R. Shivarame Gowda (BJP) was allegedly convincing Mr. Devaraje Gowda (BJP) to hand over all the videos pertaining to the case to him by saying: “Do not underestimate Mr. Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister H.D. Gowda and his family. The government is determined to ruin their lives. I am wondering why Mr. H.D. Gowda has not committed suicide till now.”

While convincing Devaraje Gowda (BJP), Shivarame Gowda (BJP) can then be heard asking to not worry much about consequences of distributing pen drives. “What is wrong about sharing the videos?” he asks in the audio clip. Upon Devaraje Gowda (BJP) pointing out the impact that the leaked videos will have on the lives of the survivors/victims, L.R. Shivarame Gowda (BJP) is heard telling him that Union Home Minister Amit Shah (BJP) recently said in Chennai that Karnataka is not a safe place for women.

JD(S) brings in the angle of conspiracy: As the leaked audio hit the social media and news, the JD(S) raised a serious allegation against the current State Congress government, stating that they hatched a conspiracy to take away the life of former Prime Minister H.D. Gowda.

In furtherance to this, the party, which is an ally of the current ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleged that State Congress president Mr. Shivakumar is the “original owner of the pen drive factory,” accused him of leading the “sleeper cell” of pen drive distribution.

As per the JD(S) party, a total of four conspiracies lie behind the whole sexual violence case, which involve bringing discredit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tarnishing the image and leadership of Mr. Kumaraswamy, breaking the JD(S)-BJP alliance and plotting to kill Mr. HD Gowda.

Only a day before this, on May 19, Devaraje Gowda (BJP) had claimed that the deputy Chief minister D.K. Shivakumar was offered a sum of 100 crore to accuse Mr. Kumaraswamy of masterminding the circulation of pen drives.

NDA candidate Prajwal Revanna accused of sexually exploiting and videotaping thousands of women

Report card: BJP and crimes against women

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Alliance Unity Wins Four of Five Seats: Karnataka Bypolls

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 09:31:50 +0000

In a thumbs up to the ruling JDS-Congress alliance in Karnataka, the coalition candidates in Karnataka won two Lok Sabha constituencies and two Assembly segments in the bypolls held on Saturday. The BJP is headed toward defeat in the Lok Sabha segments of Bellary, Mandya and the Assembly segments of Jamakhandi and Ramanagara. It is only in Shimoga where the BJP is moving toward a clear victory.

The alliance victory in four of the five seats that went to the polls on Saturday will also cement the ruling alliance in the state. The results are being seen not just as an indicator of people’s mood ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but also as something that may have a bearing on the stability of the Congress-JD(S) coalition. This is even though the results, technically, cannot bring down the government by affecting its numerical strength.

Congress’ A S Nyamagouda and Anitha Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) won Jamkhandi and Ramanagaram assembly constituencies on Tuesday by a margin of 39,480 and 1,09,137 votes, respectively. Anitha Kumaraswamy is Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s wife. Congress’ VS Ugruppa and JD(S)’s LR Shivaramegowda won Ballari and Mandya Lok Sabha seats with a margin of 2,43,161 and 3,24,943 votes, respectively. While BJP’s BY Raghavendra, son of party chief BS Yeddyurappa, won Shimoga parliamentary seat with a margin of 5,21,48 votes.
A total of 31 candidates were in the fray from all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JDS combine and the BJP. The bypoll results will determine the fate of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa’s son B Y Raghavendra and former Chief Minister S Bangarappa’s son Madhu Bangarappa and others.

Seat	Winner	Party
Shivamogga	B.Y. Raghavendra	BJP
Ramanagaram	Anitha Kumaraswamy	JD(S)
Jamkhandi	Anand Nyamgouda	Congress
Mandya	L.R. Shivarame Gowda	JD(S)
Ballari	V.S Ugrappa	Congress

A major embarrassment to the BJP was the loss of Bellary, where, after 14 years, BJP is set to lose Bellary LS seat.V S Ugrappa of the Congress has secured 4.78 lakh votes after 13 rounds of counting, an unbeatable lead over his BJP rival J Shanta who has so far secured 2.93 lakh votes. At the time of filing this report, there are just five more rounds to go. The constituency, once a Congress bastion, has been the scene of the famous electoral battle in which AICC president Sonia Gandhi made her electoral debut defeating senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in 1999.

Sonia won, but the BJP wrested the seat in the 2004 polls and had retained it since. The present bypolls were necessitated after sitting MP B Sriramulu of the BJP vacated the seat following his victory in the 2018 Assembly polls from Molkalmuru constituency in Chitradurga district. Sriramulu had won the seat defeating N Y Hanumanthappa of the Congress by a margin of 85,000 votes. J Shanta is the sister of Sriramulu. The victory to the Congress can also be attributed to key strategist and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, who is the district in-charge minister. Shivakumar was also entrusted the task by the party to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate. It was a sort of proxy war between Shivakumar and Sriramulu.

Both Shivakumar and Sriramalu are known for their electoral management skills and ‘never-say-die’ attitude. As part of its coalition arrangement with the Congress, the JD(S) did not contest. Despite reports of a ‘faction-ridden Ballari unit of the Congress’, finally the alliance unity overcame this hurdle. There had been intense speculation over whether Hosapete (Vijayanagar constituency) MLA Anand Singh and Ballari (ST) constituency MLA B Nagendra may jump ship to the BJP after their demand for Cabinet berths were not met.

Shivakumar, while speaking to the media said that Ugrapps’s victory brought with a big responsibility for the party. “Ugrappa will be Congress’ voice in the Parliament. The Congress has sought votes from the electorate for the next five years. We will now focus on the development of Bellary district. The party will ensure that we will not break the trust of the voters,” he added.

Meawnhile, J Santha of the BJP, the sister of powerful Nayaka leader B Sriramulu, has secured 65,559 votes. The present bypoll was necessitated after Sriramulu vacated the seat following his victory in the 2018 Assembly polls from Molkalmuru constituency in Chitradurga district.

Sriramulu had won the seat defeating N Y Hanumanthappa of the Congress by a margin of 85,000 votes.Ever since the constituency grabbed national attention, winning the seat has become a matter of prestige both for the Congress and the BJP. As part of its coalition arrangement with the Congress, the JD(S) did not contest.

Results
The Bellary Lok Sabha bypoll was supposed to have been a nail-biter as the BJP and the Congress carried out high-decibel campaigns. However, it is turning out to be a one-sided contest – Congress’ V S Ugrappa has polled 3.70 lakh votes whereas BJP’s J Shantha has polled 2.19 lakh votes – a huge margin of 1.51 lakh.

In the Mandya Lok Sabha segment, the BJP fielded former bureaucrat Dr Siddaramaiah, whose “clean image” it hoped could give it leverage over JD(S) leader L R Shivarame Gowda. However, Shivaramegowda is leading by 1.60 lakh votes.

Similarly, the saffron party was confident that Shrikant Kulkarni could wrest the seat from the Congress. However, Kulkarni has managed to poll 42,671 votes so far against Congress’ Anand Nyamagouda who is leading with 71,787.

As far as Ramanagara Assembly constituency is concerned, the BJP virtually conceded defeat after its candidate L Chandrashekhar backed off 48 hours before voting day on November 3. This reflects in the result so far – JD(S) candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy has polled 69,269 votes, whereas Chandrashekhar has secured only 9,502 votes.

DS leader Anitha Kumaraswamy, who is elected from Ramanagaram assembly segment, is the first woman MLA from the Muslim majority segment.

Reactions
JD(S) leader, Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy:
This elections was the first step. There are 28 Lok Sabha seats, we’ll work with Congress to win all of them, that is our goal. This is not an empty boast just because we have won today. This is the confidence of people in us. This win is not making us arrogant: JD(S) leader, Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy.

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Some Curious Facts About Karnataka Results

Thu, 17 May 2018 05:44:12 +0000

Modi ‘magic’ is wearing off, Congress got more votes than BJP and farmers are angry with both parties.

Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times

While Karnataka politics is in the grip of another round of expected horse trading and uncertainty, election results have thrown up a bunch of curious facts that should give food for thought to TV talking heads and commentators. Here are some of them.

1. Modi “magic” is over: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 21 rallies in the state during the high-decibel campaign, targeting the Congress and praising his own govt. at the centre. So, it can’t be said that Karnataka’s electorate was not thinking about the Modi govt. and only concentrating on state or local issues. As the results show, BJP’s vote share has dropped by some seven percentage points since the 2014 general elections. In the 2013 elections, Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers had quit the BJP to float their own outfits KJP and BSRC. Adding up BJP’s vote share with these two, they had managed about 32.4% votes in 2013. From there they went up to 43.4% in 2014 and plummeted down to 36.2% in 2018. That’s a net gain of less than 4% in five years. This despite all the booth management of Amit Shah and the speeches of Modi. Surely, the “magic” is no more.

2. Congress has more votes than BJP: Strange as it may look but Congress has about 38% votes compared to 36.2% votes gathered by BJP. And yet, BJP has got 104 seats compared to 78 for congress and 37 for JD-S. This has happened because of two reasons. One, in three regions – Bombay Karnataka, Central & Malnad and Coastal – BJP has swept decisively winning 66 of 98 seats and getting a much bigger share of votes than the Congress. For example in Coastal belt BJP got about 52% votes compared to Congress’ 40%. And two, the related fact that average margins of victory for BJP were much more in these three regions than elsewhere. For example, in coastal region, BJP’s average margin of victory was 23,409 compared to Congress’ 8787. Statewide, BJP’s winning margins were not so much different – Congress was 15,818 while BJP’s was 18,954’. What all this means is that despite all the hoopla about winning Karnataka and opening the gates to the South, BJP is still behind the Congress in terms of public support.

3. BJP lost the rural and ‘rurban’ areas: In the state’s 150 rural seats BJP won 69 to Congress’ 51. But in terms of vote share BJP lost: they got 34.7% votes compared to Congress’ 37.4%. In the 20 semi-rural seats or ‘rurban’ seats, BJP lost much more heavily getting 32% votes compared to Congress’ 37%. Both parties shared 7 seats apiece, with JD-S getting 5 (23% votes) and others one seat. It was only in the 52 urban seats that BJP had an edge over the Congress getting 28 seats and 42% votes compared to Congress’ 20 seats and 39.5% votes.

4. Caste factors were broken down: If you believe the so-called election experts that fill up mainstream media spaces, caste is the biggest determinant of electoral destinies. But a closer look at all elections, including this recent Karnataka one, shows that caste is not the over-riding factor. For instance, it was said that 120 seats have significant Lingayat presence and where this went would determine the fate of Congress and BJP. But the results show that in these seats, Congress got 38% votes while BJP got 40.6%. Clearly the community voted both ways. In the Vokkaliga dominated 64 seats, it was thought that JD-S would get the vast majority of votes. But in reality, Congress got marginally more votes (34.4%) than JD-S (34.2%) with BJP getting 24.3% of vote share

5. Dalits and Adivasis were divided: Among the 36 SC reserved seats, Congress got more votes (39%) than the BJP (35%) but ended up with less seats. Conversely, in the 15 ST reserved seats, Congress got slightly less votes (38%) than BJP (40%) but got 8 seats compared to BJP’s 6. Clearly communities were not voting en bloc, as is often assumed.

Source: ECI

What these facts drawn from the detailed results show is that regional factors, farmers’ issues and jobs were the factors determining voting trends, often cutting across caste and regional lines. But the biggest conclusion is that the BJP – and its electioneering machine of Shah and Modi – have failed to win Karnataka. That is why, the post poll alliance of Congress and JD-S is a viable alternative. They have between them got over 56% of the vote share compared to BJP’s 36.2%.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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