Prajwal Revanna, sitting MP and JD(S) candidate from Karnataka’s Hassan constituency, on Monday said that he will appear before the Special Investigation Team set up by the Congress-led government in the state on May 31. Revanna is facing multiple charges of sexual abuse and is absconding.
In a video post that emerged online today, Revanna said that he will return to India and cooperate with the investigation in the matter. “I will personally on Friday, May 31 at 10 am will come before the SIT and will cooperate with the investigation and will respond to it (charges). I have faith in court and I am confident I will come out of false cases through court,” news agency PTI quoted Prajwal as saying in a video statement aired on Kannada TV channel Asianet Suvarna News.
“Let God’s, people’s and family’s blessing be on me. I will surely come before SIT on May 31, Friday. After coming, I will try to put an end to all this. Keep faith in me,” he added.
Meanwhile, there has been no confirmation from the family or state authorities about Revanna’s possible return to India and appearance before the SIT. Prajwal’s family, which has sought to dissociate itself from the matter, has called for Prajwal to be punished if found guilty.
Prajwal is believed to have left the country in April just as the allegations against him surfaced. His failure to appear before the authorities for probe sparked a major row with the Congress gunning for the head of former CM HD Kumaraswamy, Prajwal’s uncle, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda had said last week that Prajwal should face the law and be punished if found guilty. The Opposition has also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning for Revanna before the videos came out.
Modi has condemned the case and said “stringent punishment” would be taken against the accused. The BJP, meanwhile, has accused the Congress of “allowing” the accused to flee the country from a state that it governs.