Modi govt’s talaq bill harmful for Muslim women; must add alimony provision: Cong

The JD(S) on Tuesday, April 30, announced that former Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna has been suspended from the party temporarily until allegations against him over sexual abuse are probed.

Revanna and his father HD Revanna, also a JD(S) MLA, were booked on Sunday by the police for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.

"We welcome SIT against Prajwal Revanna. We've taken a decision to recommend our party's national president to suspend him from the party till the SIT investigation is completed, " JD(S) core committee president GT Devegowda said.

Revanna currently is not in India. Opposition members raised concerns over how he was allowed to leave the country.

"A decision was already made. Tomorrow it is to be recommended at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he (Prajwal) is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I had requested Deve Gowda (JD(S) National President and former PM). Neither he (Gowda) nor I were aware of this issue," party chief H D Kumaraswamy has said yesterday. "Some issues have come out, based on that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend (him). But many were in a hurry."

Prajwal, 33, represents the BJP-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha election in Hassan, which happened on Friday.

Kumaraswamy alleged that Congress was manipulating facts to destroy the image of his family amid the controversy over the 'obscene' video case against his nephew Prajwal.

"We are not going to protect him, we will take severe action but the government's responsibility is more," Kumaraswamy said.

"This is the manipulation of Congress to destroy the image of our family. What is the role of Dewegowda Ji or me? We are not responsible for all those things. This is the individual issue of Prajwal Revanna. I am not in contact with him (Prajwal). It is the responsibility of the government to bring him before the law. Morally we have decided to make some decisions," Kumaraswamy told reporters on Tuesday.

Prajwal Revanna sex scandal

The state government under CM Siddaramaiah has formed a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter. In recent days, certain explicit video clips purportedly featuring Prajwal have circulated in Hassan.

In response, Revanna stated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation regarding the allegations of sexual abuse against his son and himself. He affirmed their readiness to accept any legal consequences if the accusations are substantiated.

Prajwal's father HD Revanna said that his son would appear for an SIT probe whenever he is asked to.

A case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna at Holenarasipur police station based on a complaint by their cook.

The complainant said she is a relative of Revanna's wife Bhavani.

She claimed that four months into her employment, Revanna began sexually harassing her, while his son Prajwal engaged in video calls with her daughter, engaging in "vulgar conversations."

She also alleged that there is a threat to her life as well as other members of her family.

Bengaluru: In a fresh development in the alleged Hassan sex abuse case, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, who was accused of sexually harassing his house help, has been booked for kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The case was filed late Thursday evening at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.

The 20-year-old complainant from KR Nagara accused one Sathish Babanna of taking his mother away forcibly and keeping her in an unknown location at the behest of Revanna.

As per the FIR, Revanna has been named as accused 1 while Babanna was accused 2. The duo were booked under IPC Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

The complainant claimed that his mother, whose name and age were not revealed, had worked as a help in Revanna’s house and farm in Holenarasipura for six years, quit the job three years ago and returned to KR Nagara. She then worked for daily wages.

“Nearly three to four days before the Lok Sabha election, Sathish Babanna, who is known to us and hailed from our native place, took my mother to Holenarasipura after saying that Bhavani Revanna, the wife of MLA Revanna, had asked for her,” the complainant alleged, adding that Babanna dropped her back on the day of the polls.

Babanna allegedly told the victim’s mother and father to remain silent and evade the police if they came looking for them and to inform him of the developments.

On April 29, at around 9 pm, when the complainant was home, the suspect Babanna arrived, told the complainant’s mother that Revanna had asked for her and took her away on his motorcycle. The complainant claimed that he wasn’t aware of where Babanna took his mother and he had told him that if the police found her, a case would be registered and they would all go to jail.

On May 1, two of the complainant’s relatives called him on the phone and told him that there was a video of his mother being sexually assaulted by Prajwal and that it was a huge case, the FIR noted. He was also informed by his two friends of his "mother's videos being circulated".

When he asked Babanna later that night, he was allegedly told that there was a photo of his mother standing with a stick when Prajwal had quarrelled with someone earlier and an FIR had been registered. Babanna told the complainant that his mother would have to be released on bail, the FIR noted.

“Babanna told me not to speak on the matter on my phone and asked me to talk from a different phone,” he said, seeking action from the police.

The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the Hassan sex scandal as per the government order.

The Karnataka government's decision to categorise the entire Muslim community as a backward caste for reservation purposes in the state has drawn criticism from the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), which said such blanket categorisation undermines the principles of social justice.

According to the data submitted by the Karnataka Backward Classes Welfare Department, all castes and communities within the Muslim religion have been enlisted as socially and educationally backward classes under Category IIB in the State List of Backward Classes.

The NCBC, during a field visit last year, examined the state's reservation policy for OBCs in educational institutions and government jobs.

"All castes/communities of Muslim religion of Karnataka are being treated as socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and listed as Muslim Caste separately under Category IIB in the State List of Backward Classes for providing them reservation in admission into educational institutions and in appointments to posts and vacancies in the services of the State for the purpose of Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution of India," the NCBC said in a statement on Monday night.

This categorisation has led to the provision of reservation benefits for 17 socially and educationally backward castes under Category I and 19 castes under Category II-A, respectively.

The NCBC said the blanket categorisation of Muslims as a backward caste undermines the principles of social justice, particularly for the marginalised Muslim castes and communities identified as socially and educationally backward.

However, the NCBC emphasised that while there are indeed underprivileged and historically marginalised sections within the Muslim community, treating the entire religion as backward overlooks the diversity and complexities within Muslim society.

"The religion-based reservation affects and works against ethics of social justice for categorically downtrodden Muslim castes/communities and identified socially and educationally backward Muslim castes/communities under Category-I (17 Muslim castes) and Category II-A (19 Muslim castes) of State List of Backward Classes. Hence, socially and educationally backward castes/communities cannot be treated at par with an entire religion," the NCBC stated.

The NCBC also voiced concern over the impact of such reservations on the overall framework of social justice, particularly in the context of local body polls.

While Karnataka provides 32 per cent reservation to backward classes in local body elections, including Muslims, the Commission stressed the need for a nuanced approach that accounts for the diversity within these communities.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslims constitute 12.92 per cent of the population in Karnataka.