The Congress on Monday held protests in Karnataka demanding the immediate arrest of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexually abusing hundreds of women.
Congress workers -- with women members joining in large numbers -- took to the streets in Hubballi, Hassan and Bengaluru, among other places, seeking action against the 33-year-old grandson of Janata Dal-Secular chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
In Bengaluru, the protest was led by All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba outside the office of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
Lamba said the horrifying case of sexual violence against hundreds of women has shocked the nation.
"More than 3,000 videos with hundreds of women being sexually harassed, violated and even brutalised by MP Prajwal Revanna over the past few years have shaken the conscience of Kannadigas and Indians alike," she said.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The leader with whom the PM gets photographed by placing his hand on his shoulder. The leader for whom the PM himself campaigned 10 days ago. Praised him on stage. Today, that leader of Karnataka is absconding from the country."
"Just hearing about his heinous crimes committed is heart-wrenching. This ruined the lives of hundreds of women. Modi ji, will you still remain silent?" the Congress general secretary said.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared on X a letter written by BJP leader Devaraj Gowda to the Karnataka BJP president on December 8 last year.
He said the letter exposed the presence of a pen drive full of "sleaze videos of Prajwal Revanna".
"Why did the bjp still go ahead with the alliance? Why no action was taken on the serial rapes video recorded and kept in the pen-drive? Why did the PM campaign for and shared the stage with Prajwal Revanna despite knowing that Prajwal is the kingpin of world's biggest & murkiest sex abuse?" Khera said.
Who helped Prajwal Revanna escape to Germany, he asked.
"Why is the PM silent?" Khera said.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party has helped the Hassan MP escape authorities in the alleged obscene video case.
"They (BJP) ensured that he fled the country. How did he leave the country? Who facilitated it? I'm directly blaming the BJP on this front," Kharge said.
Kharge further slammed the BJP-JDS alliance for fielding Revanna again in the Lok Sabha elections and questioned their silence over the matter.
"Despite knowing the fact that the Hassan MP (Prajwal Revanna) was known for such antecedents, despite letters being received by them from BJP functionaries, from BJP office bearers, that there are thousands of victims who have been abused by the Hassan MP. Still, they went in and gave the ticket. They were so quick to capitalize on the Hubballi murder case," he said.
"Why are they so silent now? Why aren't they protesting in every town? Why aren't they protesting in every village like they did during the Hubballi murder?" he asked.
The Congress government in Karnataka on Sunday constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the allegations against the Hassan MP and Lok Sabha poll candidate after several videos of Revanna allegedly sexually abusing women came into the public domain.
The explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.
The JD-S joined the NDA in September last year.
Prajwal is the NDA candidate in Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to the polls on April 26.
According to police sources, he fled the country after voting was over as the videos began surfacing.
The Karnataka government started an SIT investigation after a letter by Chairperson of Women's Commission Dr Nagalakshmi Chowdhary to the government regarding the sexual abuse of hundreds of women allegedly by Revanna.
The three-member SIT of IPS officers is led by the Additional Director General of Police (CID) Bijay Kumar Singh, while the other two members are Assistant Inspector General of Police Suman D Pennekar and Mysuru Superintendent of Police Seema Latkar.
The SIT has been directed to complete its investigation swiftly.
With inputs from agencies
