Former Prime Minister and JD(S) nationwide president H.D. Deve Gowda (seated) with elder son H.D. Revanna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, youthful son H.D. Kumaraswamy, and grandson Prajwal Revanna who’s the MP in Hassan.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For an embattled Janata Dal (Secular), which has been struggling to retain its identification and relevance in Karnataka politics, the alleged intercourse scandal involving its incumbent MP in Hassan Prajwal Revanna has come as a brand new blow. It has not solely embarrassed the social gathering and the household of the social gathering’s patriarch, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, it has additionally put the social gathering in the spot over its future plan of action towards Mr. Gowda’s grandson.
“The issue is likely to come up for discussion at a meeting convened in Hubballi, where leaders, including Mr. Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, will be present to discuss the election strategies for north Karnataka. There has been no formal discussion yet within the party,” a supply stated about any potential motion towards the MP.
Action unlikely earlier than May 7
On April 29, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy stated that the allegations are an embarrassment to not simply the social gathering, however society in normal, and indicated that motion could possibly be taken towards the MP. But, in keeping with a supply in the social gathering, any motion is unlikely to be be initiated until the tip of polls on May 7. “Alternatively, the party could wait to see how the SIT probe progresses,” the supply stated.
Earlier, on April 28, the social gathering’s core committee chairman G.T. Deve Gowda had welcomed the SIT investigation.
The magnitude of the scandal and the absence of Prajwal Revanna, who left India quickly after the polls on April 26, has supplied restricted scope for the social gathering or its leaders to defend their MP. Sources stated that the scandal has introduced enormous embarrassment upon the JD(S), and may be very troublesome to defend publicly.
“How do you defend this? This is the biggest scandal we have faced so far. It will damage the party’s image,” one other supply stated. “The party is now weighing options for a strategy. On the other hand, the family is looking at legal options. If the SIT issues a notice to the MP, he will have to return, or else it would be another embarrassment to the party and the family.”
Hushed discussions
There had been speak concerning the existence of intercourse movies allegedly involving the MP for practically a yr, and a BJP chief had made this public throughout a media convention. Prajwal Revanna had acquired an injunction order from a courtroom to forestall media publications from airing or publishing the contents.
While Mr. Kumaraswamy, chatting with mediapersons at Shivamogga on April 29, claimed that the embarrassment may have been averted had the household been conscious of the intercourse movies, in keeping with a supply, “The family knew about it but did not know the magnitude of the scandal. During the discussion on tickets, Mr. Kumaraswamy had expressed reservation on re-nominating Prajwal Revanna, but he eventually ceded to the demands of his brother’s family. This had caused friction within the family.”
On April 28, G.T. Deve Gowda had additionally claimed that neither the social gathering nor the household knew concerning the scandal throughout ticket distribution.
Hassan is citadel of JD(S)
Despite being the pan-Karnataka face of the JD(S), Mr. Kumaraswamy has averted interfering in the social gathering’s affairs linked to Hassan as his elder brother H.D. Revanna is in full management in that space. It was solely over the last Assembly elections that the friction between the households of Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Revanna got here out in the open over the number of a candidate for Hassan Assembly constituency when Bhavani Revanna, mom of Prajwal, insisted on contesting.
Since the allegations towards Prajwal Revanna surfaced, Mr. Kumaraswmy has tried to distance himself from them. Even on April 29, he stated that his and Mr. Revanna’s households are separate, and it was not good in charge your complete household. This scandal is anticipated to additional pressure the ties between the households of the brothers.