Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy has appealed to Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing a special investigation team (SIT) probe over the allegation of sexual harassment to return to Karnataka and face the investigation.
He also accused the Congress-run Karnataka government of 'misusing' the issue.
"...I would appeal to him (Prajwal Revanna) to come back to Karnataka and face this investigation... If you have not done anything then why are you afraid, why did you run away? You have to face this situation," Kumaraswamy told a reporter in Bengaluru on Monday.
He also responded to the allegations of '400 rapes' by the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"Where is the small piece of document with Rahul Gandhi? His government is running here. Even Priyanka Gandhi, she also in a public meeting, more than 2,000, 3,000 incidents took place. That is her charge. They wanted to destroy the strength of the NDA. They are misusing the issue," the JD-S leader said.
Earlier on May 18, JDS patron HD Deve Gowda said that the state should pursue all legal avenues against Prajwal but his son H D Revanna had been framed in the case.
"H D Kumaraswamy has already spoken on behalf of our family and party regarding the allegations against Prajwal Revanna and H D Revanna. The government must pursue all possible legal avenues against Prajwal Revanna. However, it is evident that the cases against H D Revanna were orchestrated to target him," Deve Gowda had said.
Earlier on May 6, the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had urged the centre to help the Karnataka SIT team in its investigation by helping bring Prajwal Revanna to India from abroad.
"The Special Investigation Team constituted to probe the allegations of sexual assault against MP Prajwal Revanna will conduct an independent and impartial investigation in which the state government will not interfere even a single inch... The success of the SIT investigation is now entirely dependent on the cooperation of the Central Government. The central government should cooperate in bringing the accused Prajwal Revanna, who is said to be abroad, to India," the Karnata CM said.
H D Revanna and his son, Prajwal Revanna, are facing a probe by an SIT constituted by the Karnataka government over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in their household.
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