'What is stopping Modi govt from cancelling Prajwal Revanna's diplomatic passport,' asks Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday asked the Centre what was stopping it from cancelling the diplomatic passport of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexual abuse.

The 33-year-old Hassan MP reportedly flew to Germany soon after the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asking for a probe into the sexual abuse allegations against him after scores of purported abuse videos and pictures went viral on social media.

In a post on X, Ramesh questioned how Prajwal was allowed to escape.

"What is stopping the PM from having the diplomatic passport to Prajwal Revanna cancelled? How and why was he allowed to flee the country like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi were?" the Congress leader asked.

Prajwal, the grandson of Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, is accused of sexual assault after several videos allegedly featuring him surfaced.

He is the NDA candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26. The JD(S) formed an alliance with the BJP in 2023.

On Friday, one more rape case was registered against Prajwal, taking the number of cases pertaining to the alleged sexual abuse of several women to three, police sources said.

The FIR was registered against Prajwal on May 8 in Bengaluru, according to sources in the Special Investigation Team which was constituted for a probe after a huge cache of videos allegedly showing the Hassan MP sexually abusing several women became public.

The first FIR pertains to molestation of his cook in Holenarasipura in Hassan. Prajwal's father and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna is also an accused in the case. The second case pertains to raping a JD(S) worker at gunpoint.

H D Revanna is currently lodged in the Central Jail at Parappara Agrahara in Bengaluru under judicial custody after a 20-year-old youth alleged that Revanna and his aide kidnapped his mother. The youth said his mother had figured in one of the videos where she was allegedly tied and raped by Prajwal.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on May 2 said that Prajwal travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and did not seek political clearance for the trip.

A Blue Corner notice of the Interpol seeking information on his whereabouts has also been issued against the Hassan MP.