No official response from Centre yet on request to cancel Prajwal's passport: G Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said the state has not yet got any official response from the Centre regarding its request seeking cancellation of the diplomatic passport of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing women.
Taking a dig at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's reported statement that the state government's request to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal was received only on May 21, he sought to know what happened to the letter sent by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1.
"As far as I know, we have not got any information or letter so far (from the Centre). I have seen that the External Affairs Minister has told the media that they are taking action and in a couple of days they will cancel it (diplomatic passport), but we have not got any written communication on this," Parameshwara said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the Chief Minister on May 1 wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking cancellation of Prajwal's diplomatic passport, and after that the Special Investigation Team formed by the state government to probe the charges, too wrote a letter to the Centre with the same request.
"Where is the (response for) first (CM's) letter? When a Chief Minister writes a letter to the Prime Minister's Office, it has to get its due respect. That did not happen. The External Affairs Minister is saying that they got the letter from the state on May 21, so we have to ask where did the first letter go? They are taking action, it is good, let them take, but him saying that we (state) have sent a letter now and not earlier, is not right," he added.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs has served a show-cause notice to Prajwal asking why his diplomatic passport should not be cancelled as sought by the Karnataka government in view of allegations of sexual abuse against him, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Chief Minister Siddarmaiah had written a second letter to the Prime Minister urging him to take "prompt and necessary" action to cancel the diplomatic passport of the Hassan MP on May 22.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda and is the NDA's candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to polls, and is still at large. A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts has already been issued by the Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant on May 18 against Prajwal Revanna, following an application moved by the SIT.
Reiterating the state government's commitment to protect the interests of victims of Hassan sexual abuse cases and providing security to them, the Home Minister said, the Superintendent of Police there and range IG have been instructed to ensure that victims don't face any problems.
To a question on some organisations and thinkers organising "Hassan Chalo" demanding arrest of Prajwal and protection for women, on May 30, he said, "they might be doing it for public awareness, let them do it."
Regarding JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy demanding punishment for real culprits behind the pen drive leak and circulation case, Parameshwara said, "we are doing it. To find the real culprit, Prajwal's role -- the SIT has been formed. From the investigation it will be known as to who is involved, who distributed the pen drives. Investigation is on, at this stage making statements may hamper the probe."
The cases of sexual abuse came to light after number of pen drives allegedly containing explicit videos involving Prajwal were reportedly circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.
Hitting back at the state BJP president B Y Vijayendra's comments targeting the state government for alleged deterioration of law and order in the state, Parameshwara said let him see the situation in BJP-ruled states as he asserted that the Congress government in Karnataka won't let the law and order situation to deteriorate at any cost.
Referring to the fire at a gaming zone in Gujarat's Rajkot killing several 27 people including children, he said, "who is responsible for it? Who has to resign? The Chief Minister and Home Minister there have to resign. It is easy to say, but one has to also justify."
To a question regarding an alleged custodial death case at Channagiri, the Home Minister said, "An inspector and DySP have been suspended, as there was no proper action on part of the police and there was negligence. The inquiry has been ordered. Based on what comes out of the inquiry, we will take action."
Referring to a recent incident involving BJP MLA Harish Poonja, Parameshwara said, "Legislators go to the police station and engage in verbal spats with the police and indulge in recklessness, when such is the situation, how will there be peace in society? That's the reason we repeatedly say no one should take law into their hands. If anyone takes law into their hands, whoever it is, whether it is a legislator or anyone else, we will take action against them, no one will be spared."
"Those who indulge in goondagiri or dadagiri and thinking they can survive with it, it is not possible. I warn them. We will not tolerate such things and we will stop it," he added
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Malian defence minister killed in attack that saw jihadis and rebels seize towns, military bases
Dakar (AP): Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media.
Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State group-aligned militants have been fighting the government for over a decade.
Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal after the attacks, the rebels said Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a separatist group, said the Russian Africa Corps troops and the Malian military withdrew from the city after an agreement was reached for their peaceful exit.
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier statement said they were “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
It was the first time the separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northern Mali.
“This operation is being carried out in partnership with the JNIM, which is also committed to defending the people against the military regime in Bamako,” Ramadan said.
Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank, said that the coordination between the two groups, as well as the explicit call for the Russian military to leave, is new.
“The coordination, conducting attacks all over the country at the same time, real coordination on the military level but also on the political level because both claims of both groups they acknowledged that they worked together, this is a first,” said Nasr.
Mali government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the attacks and called on “all states, security forces, regional mechanisms and populations of West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat this scourge.”
The separatists called on Russia to “reconsider its support for the military junta in Bamako, whose actions have contributed to the suffering of the civilian population.”
Following military coups, the juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako's airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said that while the attacks were a major blow to the credibility of Mali's Russian partners, JNIM is unlikely to take control of Bamako in the near term due to opposition from the local population.
“The attacks are a major blow to Russia as the mercenaries had no intelligence about the attacks and were unable to protect major cities. They have unnecessarily worsened the conflict by not distinguishing between civilians and combatants,” Laessing said.
