Karnataka Minister takes dig at Centre over plea to cancel Prajwal Revanna's passport

G Parameshwara sought to know what happened to the letter sent by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, seeking revocation of the passport of the suspended JDS leader.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday took a dig at the Centre, a day after the Ministry of External Affairs said the state government's request to impound the diplomatic passport of absconding Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna was received only on May 21.

Parameshwara deduced that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had failed to inform the External Affairs Ministry about the letter written by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the cancellation of Revanna’s passport.

“I too saw the media report. If he (External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar) said so, then it means that the PMO did not inform the Ministry of External Affairs,” Parameshwara said.

So far, the chief minister has written two letters to the prime minister. Apart from that, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also written to the MEA seeking Prajwal’s passport cancellation.

“The chief minister wrote the letter in April itself and the External Affairs minister says he received it on May 21. What happened to the letter in the PMO? Didn’t it get the value it deserved or did the PMO not inform the MEA? We can see how the Centre is functioning” Parameshwara said.

Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of sexually abusing women.

Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to polls, and is still at large. A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts has already been issued by Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant against Prajwal, following an application moved by the SIT.

Channagiri custodial death

Responding to the alleged custodial death in Davanagere’s Channagiri town, Parameshwara said that the autopsy would reveal the truth.

“Once the report is done, action will be taken accordingly,” he said.

“The person was brought to the police station based on a complaint. Within seven minutes, there were some issues with his health. It has been alleged that he was killed by the police, protests were held and attempts were made to barge inside the station,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)