Revanna sex abuse case: Activists plan 'Hassan chalo' march on May 30

Over 10,000 individuals from various progressive groups have come together under the umbrella of 'Naveddu Nilladiddare-Karnataka' to take out a 'justice march' to Hassan on May 30, over the sex abuse case. 

The group condemned the 'misuse of political power, constitutional responsibility and caste privilege' by JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna and demanded his immediate arrest. 

Criticising the central government’s 'intentional delay' in bringing back the MP who “fled” India after the case surfaced in April, Maitreyi Krishnan from All India Progressive Women’s Association urged immediate cancellation of his diplomatic visa. 

“It is unnerving to see that the public debates are diverted from actual crimes committed by Prajwal and his father H D Revanna to who distributed the pen drives. This is done with the intent of political gain and we condemn that. We demand the immediate arrest of Prajwal at any cost,” women’s and human rights activist Akkai Padmashali stressed, urging people to join the march on May 30. 

Shedding light on the sensitivity and care with which the entire case must be tackled since it involves the lives of several women hailing from oppressed communities in Hassan, Vimala K S, state vice-president of Janavadi Mahila Sanghatane, said their dignity and privacy must be safeguarded at all costs. Akkai declared that the march aims to demand personalised counselling, legal advice, appropriate protection, rehabilitation and compensation for the survivors. 

“We condemn the idea propagated across social media over debates that stem from deep-rooted patriarchal archetypes which claim the recorded videos of the brutal acts are consensual. The whole idea of consent is arguable depending on the context. Here, the survivors are from oppressed communities, while the perpetrator is from a feudal family,” said Akkai. 

'Naveddu Nilladiddare' also demands that the cyber police take down all circulated videos from social media.