NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the sexual abuse allegations against JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna and questioned whether being associated with “Modi’s political family” provides a shield for criminals.
Prajwal Revanna and his father, H D Revanna, were booked by the police on Sunday with sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint filed by a woman employed in their household.
“As always, Narendra Modi has maintained shameful silence on the gruesome crimes committed against women in Karnataka,” Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post, condemning the Prime Minister’s silence on crimes against women in the state.
Gandhi demanded answers from PM Modi, questioning why he supported Prajwal Revanna despite being aware of the allegations against him.
“The Prime Minister will have to answer: Despite knowing everything, why did he campaign for the devil who exploited hundreds of daughters, just for votes? After all, how did such a big criminal escape from the country with such ease?” the former Congress chief said in a post on X.
Gandhi further stated that from Kaiserganj to Karnataka and from Unnao to Uttarakhand, the prime minister’s “silent support” for criminals who target women is emboldening offenders across the country. He posed the question, “Is being part of Modi’s ‘political family’ a ‘guarantee of protection’ for criminals?”
Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and the nephew of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, faced severe criticism from Congress and other political parties. In response to the mounting pressure, the JD(S), an ally of the BJP, took action by suspending Prajwal.