BJP can't remain with those who commit atrocities against women: Amit Shah on Prajwal Revanna
Hubballi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the BJP cannot remain with those who commit atrocities against women, referring to the sexual abuse allegations against JDS Lok Sabha poll candidate Prajwal Revanna.
He also blamed the Congress government in Karnataka for not acting against the Hassan MP till the Lok Sabha elections in the Vokkaliga belt were over.
Prajwal is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and son of former minister H D Revanna. He is seeking a re-election from Hassan on the JD(S) ticket.
Just before the elections, a huge cache of explicit videos and photographs, allegedly involving him have gone viral in the social media, following which the Karnataka government constituted the SIT on the request of Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary.
A case has been registered against Revanna and Prajwal at Holenarasipura on a complaint by their former cook and relative for allegedly sexually harassing her. She alleged that Prajwal made video calls to her daughter and spoke in an objectionable manner, which forced her to block him.
“We (BJP) have an alliance with the JD(S). Now (Prajwal) Revanna’s CD has come. They (Congress) thought they can corner the BJP. I am making it clear here BJP cannot remain with those who commit atrocities against women,” the Home Minister said at a public meeting.
He said Congress is in power in the state and it should have taken action.
“You did not initiate any action till the elections in the Vokkaliga belt were over. You did politics and allowed him (Prajwal Revanna) to escape. If you have guts tell the truth. Because of you, a heinous criminal fled the country,” Shah said.
Vokkaliga is the dominant community in the southern part of Karnataka, to which the JD(S)' first family belongs. They wield influence in the 14 Lok Sabha seats which went to polls on April 26. Polling in the remaining 14 seats will take place on May 7.
The BJP’s stand was clear that stringent punishment should be given to those who commit such crimes, Shah added.
He also accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of politicising the drought relief issue.
Responding to Congress' charge that the Centre intentionally delayed disbursal of funds to mitigate the drought in Karnataka till the state government approached the Supreme Court, Amit Shah said there was a delay from Karnataka in making the request.
“I want to tell you why there was delay in releasing drought relief funds. The Chief Minister and his Deputy D K Shivakumar fight with each other. The Deputy CM tries to pull down the CM... They caused the delay in submitting the request,” the Union Minister claimed.
He pointed out that the Karnataka government has written three memoranda.
By the time the third memorandum came, the model code of conduct came into effect, which led to the delay in releasing the central aid, Shah said claiming that the Congress government was levelling false accusations against the BJP.
The Karnataka government had sought Rs 18,171 crore from the Centre from the National Disaster Response Fund to overcome drought prevailing in 226 out of 236 Taluks of the state but it got Rs 3,454 crore after it moved the apex court in the middle of the election.
Referring to the Rameswaram Cafe blast, Shah alleged that soon after the Congress came to power, a blast took place in Bengaluru city, which the Siddaramaiah government initially called as cylinder explosion.
Referring to the Neha Hiremath murder case, Shah said if the Congress was unable to protect the people of the state, it should step down and allow the BJP to run it in a better way.
He also took strong exception to the alleged Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised in the Vidhana Soudha corridors on February 27.
Noting that the 2024 Lok Sabha election was a historic one between two camps, Shah said, “On the one hand there is a brother and a sister who go abroad on vacation and there is a person (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) who did not take any leave in the last 23 years and celebrates Deepavali with soldiers.”
Lashing out at the Congress, the Union Minister said while the Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), the grand old party took the support of its political arm, SDPI.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had proclaimed support for Congress-led UDF in Kerala in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Shah declared that a third term for Modi would mean the end of terrorism and naxalism, and making India the third major economy in the world.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
