My only mistake was 'fast' growth in politics, made no mistake, says Prajwal; seeks lesser sentence
Bengaluru (PTI): Convicted in a rape case and awaiting sentencing on Saturday, suspended JD(S) leader and former MP Prajwal Revanna sought for lesser punishment, claiming he did nothing wrong and that his only mistake was his 'fast' growth in politics.
A Special Court here is slated to pronounce the quantum of sentence after convicting the 34-year-old Prajwal in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him on Friday.
Prajwal broke down in court on Saturday as he appealed to the judge for lesser punishment.
He told the court that he is a BE Mechanical graduate, and has always passed on merit.
"...they say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain, they came six days prior to election (Lok Sabha polls last year)...the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint," Prajwal told the court.
Pointing out that the woman (victim) had not complained to anyone including her husband or kin about the alleged rape, he said that she comes and gives complaint when certain videos were circulated.
Stating that will bow down to the court's conviction, Prajwal said, "I have a family, I have not seen my mother and father for six months now.....please give me a less sentence is what I request the court."
"The only mistake I made in my life is growing fast in politics," Prajwal, arrested in May last year upon his arrival from Germany, said.
The special court for MPs/MLAs Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat on Friday had convicted the 34-year-old Prajwal in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him. The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of sentence on Saturday.
The prosecution advocates sought life imprisonment for Prajwal Revanna during the hearing, ahead of the sentencing.
The case pertains to a 48-year-old woman who was working as a help at the family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. She was allegedly raped twice -- at Hassan farm house and Bengaluru residence-- in 2021 and the act recorded by the accused on his mobile phone.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
