‘Rather than asking me, leaders of his own party, his ally should be asked’: DK Shivakumar on Prajwal Revanna’s life sentence

NEW DELHI:Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday responded to questions regarding the life imprisonment sentence given to expelled Janta Dal (Secular) leader and former Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna in a rape case, stating that it should be the leaders of his own party and their allies who should be questioned on this matter.

The Deputy CM emphasised that commenting on the issue could turn it into a political controversy and that it should be his party’s leadership to say what is “what is right and what is wrong.”

“If we talk about Prajwal Revanna’s life sentence, it will become political. Therefore, it is very important for JDS-BJP leaders to respond,” Shivakumar said.

“Rather than asking me for my reaction to this verdict, the leaders of his own party, JDS, and his ally, the BJP, should be asked. They should say what is right and what is wrong. They have the power and ability to respond to this. Let the JDS state president, national president, and youth wing president respond,” he added.

Questioning the silence of senior BJP leaders, he said, “Why are important BJP leaders, including Ashok, Narayanaswamy, and CT Ravi, not speaking out?”

When pressed about Prajwal Revanna allegedly claiming the case to be a conspiracy during trial proceedings, Shivakumar declined to comment, stating, “I don’t know about that. I will not respond to the statement he gave in court.”

Earlier in the day, Prajwal Revanna was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Court for People’s Representatives in connection with the rape of a domestic worker at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Karnataka’s Hassan district.

A fine of Rs 10 lakh has also been imposed on the expelled JDS Leader and former Lok Sabha MP. The court said that the victim will be given a compensation of Rs 7 lakh.

On Friday, a special court in Karnataka found Prajwal Revanna guilty in a rape case involving a domestic helper.

Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was convicted in one of four rape cases filed against him. The conviction comes just 14 months after the case surfaced.

Following the verdict, Revanna broke down in court. The matter came to light in April last year after obscene videos of sexual harassment against multiple women were leaked ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was arrested in May 2024 after returning from Germany.

He had earlier been denied bail by both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court.

Revanna had challenged the Karnataka High Court order dated October 21, whereby it dismissed his regular bail and anticipatory bail pleas.

On May 31, 2024, he was arrested at Bengaluru airport by CID’s SIT on his return from Germany, where he had remained for 35 days, after hundreds of explicit videos surfaced, allegedly featuring him with multiple women. (ANI)