Soon after former Minister H.D. Revanna was released on bail, his brother and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy launched a fresh offensive against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, without taking his name, by saying that a “big whale” was behind the “politically-motivated” arrest.
What Ravi Ganiga said
Congress MLA Ravi Ganiga had earlier said that the SIT probe would soon bring to light the role of a “big whale in the BJP” in the distribution of pen drives containing videos of alleged sexual abuse by JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, son of Mr. Revanna. He had alleged that the BJP was deliberately doing this to politically finish the JD(S), an ally of the saffron party in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Council elections.
Taking exception to this charge, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the “big whale” was in the government itself. “Everyone knows who the big whale is in Karnataka,” he remarked, without taking the name of Mr. Shivakumar. Mr. Kumaraswamy alleged that Mr. Revanna had been arrested “to defame the Deve Gowda family.”
Making it clear that he would stand by the women victims in the pen drive episode, he asked Home Minister G. Parameshwara to state whether the police had initiated any action with respect to alleged intimidation of a woman victim that had been referred by the National Women’s Commission. He expressed displeasure over driver Karthik Gowda, who allegedly stole the videos for circulation, still being at large.
‘Hit-and-run’ expert
Meanwhile, seeking to downplay Mr. Kumaraswamy’s “big whale” remarks, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the JD (S) leader was known for “hit-and-run” episodes. Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar sarcastically remarked, “He is free to net and swallow any big whale responsible for the release of pen drives. I am neither the director nor the producer. I am just an exhibitor.”
Asked about the allegations that Mr. Revanna was arrested to bring disrepute to Mr. Deve Gowda’s family, he said, “It is a big family, I wish this would not have happened to them. I won’t wish them bad even if they wish me bad. I believe in natural justice and I have been victim of political conspiracies myself. I will answer brother Kumaranna in the Legislative Assembly.”
‘This is no time for celebrations’
Making it clear that his brother H.D. Revanna getting bail in the abduction case is no time for celebration, JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday asked the party workers to desist from it.
“This is not the time for celebrations. You can celebrate when both the guilty persons – those harassing women and those distributing pen drives containing their videos – get proper punishment for their crime”, he told mediapersons.
