Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara welcomes Prajwal's statement on appearing before SIT
Bengaluru, May 27: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday welcomed the statement of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing several women, that he would appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and cooperate with the probe later this week.
Prajwal's uncle and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said there was "some solace", as the former has responded to the family's directions to come back and face the investigation.
Exactly a month after he left the country, Prajwal released a video statement in which he promised to appear before the SIT, probing the cases against him, on May 31.
In the statement that is being circulated widely, he termed the cases against him as "false" and part of a "political conspiracy", besides claiming that he had gone into depression.
ALSO READ: Prajwal Revanna releases a video statement, says will appear before SIT on May 31
"Prajwal Revanna through a video has said that he will appear in front of SIT on May 31st at 10 am and will cooperate with the investigation. I welcome this statement," Parameshwara said.
"As all of you know, at the time when people were saying that in the history of Karnataka such an incident had not occurred, all efforts were on to bring him back. The CM wrote two letters to the Prime Minister (seeking cancellation of Prajwal's diplomatic passport). We had requested the CBI and through them to the Interpol to issue a Blue Corner Notice, and it was issued," he noted.
Further pointing out that the state government had requested the Centre to cancel his diplomatic passport to bring him back at the earliest, the Home Minister said the Ministry of External Affairs had recently stated that the process was underway to cancel his passport.
"I welcome Prajwal's statement. He must come and appear and say what he has to before the SIT. The SIT based on the information and evidence it has may have to arrest him, as an arrest warrant has been issued. But, when he is surrendering, how SIT will take it we need to see," he added.
Asked about the source of Prajwal's video statement, Parameshwara said, "I don't know, you (media) showed me. I got information a couple of hours ago that he had released a statement, but I had not seen the video."
To a question on why the source of the video can't be traced, he said, "You and I may not know, but SIT would..."
Replying as to why the state government and Centre were unable to bring him back, Parameshwara said it is not easy to bring someone from a foreign country, as there are certain procedures to be followed.
"The central government has to impound his diplomatic passport. We cannot travel to a foreign country and arrest him there. We had to follow the legal process in that country and request them, we did it through the Centre. He is coming back, it is good. Let him come and give his statement, subsequently what the SIT does we will wait and see."
Responding to a question on Centre's cooperation, the Minister said, "The Centre did not (cooperate) properly. The External Affairs Minister said his diplomatic passport will be cancelled, but it was not... they have not responded to your request."
On Prajwal's claims that cases registered against him were false, he said, "Everyone claims they are not guilty. If not guilty, fine. If not guilty, a question arises -- who committed the wrong... SIT based on evidence will say what they have to."
Reacting to Prajwal's statement alleging political conspiracy and also taking the name of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, "I don't know about it, I heard from you (about video statement). What options does he (Prajwal) have? Law will take its own course. Whatever information he has through the media, Rahul Gandhi has spoken."
Addressing reporters in Chikkaballapura, Kumaraswamy expressed some amount of solace as Prajwal responded to the family's directions to come back.
"With regards to this case, our national President H D Deve Gowda had warned (Prajwal) to come back, appear before the SIT and cooperate with the investigation. I too requested him to return if he has respect towards karyakartas. Responding to this, he is coming back, so we have some solace. The due processes will follow in the days to come," he said.
Asked about Prajwal alleging conspiracy, the former CM said, "truth should come out from the investigation in the days to come. Whose role is what in this case will be known from the SIT probe, let's see what they do."
Asked about Prajwal apologising to him in the video, Kumaraswamy said, "....I had told (Prajwall) to respond to the pain of the party workers. At least now he has shown that he has affection for karyakartas, so I'm a bit satisfied."
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said there should be a probe, though Prajwal has accepted that nobody is above law.
"Everyone should abide by the law and explore legal options... running away is not the way. The whole world knows there is a big conspiracy. The Congress has conspired. But, everyone should function in accordance with the law," he said and alleged that SIT has been formed by the Congress to 'save' its own people involved in the case.
State BJP President B Y Vijayendra, only said, "let him come."
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Kerala polls: Vijayan, Revanth Reddy trade barbs as campaigning ends
Kannur (Kerala)/Hyderabad (PTI): A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The two leaders sparred on the virtual world as well, exchanging letters on their respective social media handles.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, campaigning for the UDF in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to PM Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had said "nee po mone Vijaya" by invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to Reddy's earlier remarks, Vijayan said a CM must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
In his response to a query, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as nearly derogatory for Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan wrote on his 'X' handle that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects. Reddy's statements lacked factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
He clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
He also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya". He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya".
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
Reddy in his letter questioned the veteran Marxist leader's claim that Kerala would become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty by late 2025 had been achieved. Further, he chooses to conduct himself respectfully and gracefully in his criticism of the Kerala government's performance, whereas Vijayan opted to use language of poor taste.
Reddy, in his letter on X, said that while he respects NITI Aayog's corruption rankings, he wants to know why the infamous gold smuggling case, linked to individuals connected to the CMO, remains unresolved, and why 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has not been accounted for.
