Congress government in Karnataka sat on evidence against Prajwal Revanna: Nirmala Sitharaman

Pune: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday claimed that the Congress government in Karnataka did not take action against JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, accused of sexually abusing women, for about a year despite being aware of the matter.

The Congress was afraid that it might lose Vokkaliga votes and therefore stayed silent until the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections got over, she said, speaking at a meeting with select journalists here.

"The Union home minister (Amit Shah) has made it very clear that we will not tolerate the matters that go against women and on that we stand united. Though the (BJP's) alliance partner has this issue, we have made it clear that it was not acceptable, and let it be investigated," Sitharaman said, when asked if the scandal will have an impact on her party's performance in Karnataka in the ongoing elections.

It was being claimed that a driver gave a pen drive (allegedly containing evidence of Revanna's acts) to the Congress party and state home minister but they were sitting on this evidence for about a year, and 'now the BJP is made to answer because the JD(S) is in alliance with us,' she said.

The ministers of the Congress government knew what was in the pen drive, but they did not think that safety of women should be their priority, Sitharaman alleged.

"They thought the Vokkaliga votes might go from their hands and decided to remain silent till the time the first phase of Lok Sabha got over. Now they are making it a big issue and pushing it which is typical of Congress and it shows their hypocrisy," the BJP leader further said, asking why probe was delayed for one year.

The Karnataka government was now writing to the prime minister about the case, asking him to issue look-out notices against Prajwal Revanna and bring him back from abroad, but the Union home minister had clearly said that the Karnataka government can take all the action it wants to take, she said.

Asked about BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son Karan Singh getting ticket from the party for Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Sitharaman said the allegations against the MP had not been proved yet.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers.

"Nothing is proven against Brij Bhushan....even if he is convicted, I would say you want to carry the blame to the son. Even convicted people's children have been entertained by so many parties," the union minister said.

The BJP was still confident after two phases of the Lok Sabha elections of winning 370 seats on its own and 400 seats along with its NDA allies, she said.

Asked if the BJP was in defence mode and responding to the opposition's narrative instead of setting its own, Sitharaman said this was not the case.

"Our response to the Congress' manifesto is not defensive, nor is it negative, rather it is more offensive and substantive,' she said, adding that the manifesto was more of a Muslim League document.

Later, in an interaction with students at an event at Deccan College in the city, Sitharaman talked about the Rohith Vemula case where the Telangana police have filed a closure report before a local court stating that the University of Hyderabad student was not a Dalit, and he died by suicide in 2016 as he feared that his 'real caste' would be discovered.

The issue was dragged to the streets without allowing the university to handle it with sensitivity, the union minister said.

"It was an unfortunate incident. It was dragged to the streets and a narrative was built that the government was suppressing (facts) and was against students and SCs. Today, the same people who dragged the unfortunate family of Vemula on the street, should stand up before the entire country and apologise for having politicised it," she said.