Indian lawmaker suspended from party over ‘sex tapes’

A 33-year old politician who is the grandson of a former prime minister fled to Germany after allegations against him surfaced.

Prajwal Revanna, a sitting member of the Indian Parliament from the state of Karnataka, has been suspended by his party, the Janata Dal (Secular), over allegations of molesting women. The politician will be expelled from the party permanently if he is convicted, the party said on Tuesday.

Revanna, 33, the grandson of former Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has been accused of sexually assaulting women over several years. He allegedly recorded nearly 2,900 explicit videos to blackmail his victims. Some of the videos were shared widely on social media platforms and messaging apps on April 26, just three days before voting was held in Hassan, his constituency.

The videos have sparked a massive political row both in the state and across the country as Revanna’s party has joined the National Democratic Alliance, a political bloc led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has campaigned alongside Janata Dal leaders, including Revanna, in Karnataka.

The public meeting in Mysuru was phenomenal. The support for @BJP4Karnataka and @JanataDal_S across all parts of Karnataka is remarkable. People are fed up of Congress and want our alliance to win. It was very special that our former PM and respected statesman @H_D_Devegowda JI… pic.twitter.com/dDqWhCrSTP

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2024

Last week, a woman filed a case against Revanna accusing him of sexual misconduct. She further alleged that the politician had abused her sexually several times between 2019 and 2022. The woman also claimed that Prajwal’s father, HD Revanna, also a politician from the same party, sexually assaulted her when his wife was not at home.

According to the reports in the Indian media, Revanna flew to Germany soon after the videos purportedly showing him in compromising positions with the women surfaced. Reports also suggest that he has filed a police complaint claiming that the obscene videos being circulated are “morphed” and aim “to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters.”

Janata Dal has claimed that the Karnataka government, led by the rival Congress party, raked up the issue ahead of the elections on purpose. It has also questioned the timing of the leaks.

BJP has sought to distance itself from the controversy. “We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos”, S Prakash, the BJP’s spokesperson in Karnataka, was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The Karnataka State Commission for Women has alleged that the women were forced to have the sexual encounters and filmed without their consent and demanded the government take action. A Special Investigation Team led by an Additional Director General of Police has now been set up to probe the allegations. Revanna’s father told the media on Monday that his son would return to India whenever “required for the investigation.”