Suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and he did not seek political clearance for the trip, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday amid an escalating political row over his alleged sexual harassment of several women.
On Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's demand for revocation of Mr. Revanna's diplomatic passport, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such action can be taken only on the directions of a court.
Mr. Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is said to have left India on April 27, a day after voting for the Lok Sabha elections took place in his Hassan constituency.
The Janata Dal (Secular) has already suspended the Hassan MP from the party.
"No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany," Mr. Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a volley of questions on the MP's reported travel to Germany.
"Obviously, no visa note was issued either. No visa is required for diplomatic passport holders to travel to Germany. The Ministry has not issued visa note for any other country," the MEA spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged the prime minister to take swift action to cancel the diplomatic passport of Mr. Revanna that the JD(S) leader used to travel abroad.
Asked about whether the MEA may consider revocation of his passport in view of the allegations of sexual harassment against him, Mr. Jaiswal did not give a direct reply.
"As regards the possible revocation of the passport of any individual, I would refer you to the relevant provisions of the Passport Act 1967. A direction should come from a court for revocation of passport. We are not in receipt of any directions from any court in this regard," he said.
Mr. Jaiswal said Mr. Revanna travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and that he did not seek any political clearance for the trip.
The MEA spokesperson noted that parliamentarians are entitled to have diplomatic passports.
"The matter is being investigated and we will be doing whatever is needed to be done," he said in reply to another question.
Asked whether Mr. Revanna used a diplomatic passport for his travel, Mr. Jaiswal said: "Yes, he travelled on a diplomatic passport." The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged sex scandal involving Mr. Revanna.
Mr. Revanna and his father H.D. Revanna, former Karnataka minister, were booked by police on Sunday on charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.
Nearly 3,000 explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing several women have gone viral in Hassan in recent days.
