Did not get any letter on allegations against Prajwal Revanna: Vijayendra

Hubballi (Karnataka): Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Saturday rejected claims that he was in the know about the sexual abuse allegations against Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, and asserted that the issue would have no adverse impact on the two parties in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Vijayendra asserted that he has not yet received any letter regarding the allegations till now and that such claims are 'far from the truth'.

Vijayendra's comments came after BJP leader G Devaraje Gowda, who had was the party's candidate for the Holenarasipur Assembly seat against Prajwal's father H D Revanna in the May 2023 assembly elections, had claimed that he had written a letter to Vijayendra in December 2023. The letter, he claimed, informed him about the alleged explicit video clips related to the MP, and warned him about the possible embarrassment to the party if he was fielded as the NDA candidate from Hassan.

JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year. The parties are contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections together. The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of Deve Gowda, was the NDA candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls on April 26.

In the purported letter opposing the BJP's probable alliance with the JD(S) in Hassan, Gowda stated that he was in possession of a pen drive containing scores of explicit video clips and photos allegedly shot by Prajwal Revanna, who also allegedly used them to blackmail many women.

Stating that another pen drive containing the videos and documents have reached the hands of Congress leadership, he also warned in the letter that if Prajwal is fielded as the alliance's candidate for Lok Sabha polls, there are chances of them using it as a weapon to target the BJP and cause embarrassment.

"The claims that Vijayendra was aware about the incident and a letter was written to me as the state President in this regard is not true. The person who has said it, please question him....Such incidents should not happen, everyone should bow down their heads in shame because of such incidents," Vijayendra said, while speaking to reporters here.

Explaining further, Vijayendra said, "I have not received any letter till this moment. I'm saying this with full responsibility... As the state president I'm saying that on this pen drive (containing explicit video clips) matter, the claims that one had written a letter to me sharing the information about the scandal is far from truth. Until this moment I have received no such letter as the party president, it has not reached me."

The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sexual abuse allegations against Prajwal after the videos emerged. Complaints have also been filed against him and H D Revanna, raising similar allegations, with police registering separate cases on those.

Speculating that the Congress government might have gotten the pen drive containing the videos some time ago, Vijayendra alleged that the government 'purposely released' it one day before the first phase of polling in the state, citing 'discussions among public'. He demanded answers on this from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the government.

He also claimed that this scandal would have 'no impact' on the Lok Sabha poll results, as the voters want Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister once again. "Our party's stand is very clear, there is no question of BJP supporting such incidents in any way and those involved in it. Those who have committed wrong will face punishment," he said.