BJP leaders demands CBI probe in sexual abuse cases, accuse SIT of 'witch hunting'
Bengaluru (PTI): Leaders of the oppositon BJP in Karnataka on Sunday continued their demand for a CBI probe into sexual abuse charges against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and related cases, to ensure a fair investigation.
The 33-year-old JD(S) MP, who is grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda, is facing charges of sexually abusing women. The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.
While the Congress government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cases, the BJP and JD(S) -- NDA partners -- have demanded that it be handed over to the CBI, and action taken against those behind the circulation of explicit videos.
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said bringing out the guilty and ensuring punishment was the primary duty of the SIT, and accused it of "witch hunting".
"People are questioning the way in which the inquiry is progressing. A complaint has been lodged with the National Commission of Women about (a woman) being forced to file a complaint (in connection with case), also complaints are being filed against those who gave information about the sexual abuse case," Bommai said.
Addressing reporters here, he said, bringing the guilty to book and ensuring punishment to them is the primary duty of the SIT, but instead "witch hunting" is being done, and thereby causing investigation to lose track.
Responding to a question on demands that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar should also be subjected to inquiry, following allegations of his role behind circulation of explicit videos, Bommai said, "Inquiring all those linked to the main case and related other cases, will only ensure complete the probe. So, we are saying that if the case is handed over to the CBI, it will be conducted in a fair manner."
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said, BJP's clear stand is that the party will support its alliance partner JD(S) in its fight, and there should be a CBI probe in this case.
"A CBI probe is needed because cases are being booked against those who first gave information about the sexual abuse case," he said.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
