Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP of protecting Janata Dal’s (Secular) Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna who is embroiled in the Karnataka sexual harassment case. Videos, allegedly recorded by the MP, had been doing rounds in Hassan ahead of the election.
Attacking the JD(S), which is the BJP’s ally in Karnataka, Mr. Yadav said the BJP provided a safe passage to Mr. Revanna to escape to Germany. The former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue saying Mr. Modi remained silent on the Manipur violence and protest by women wrestlers against alleged sexual abuse.
Also read: Prajwal Revanna ‘scandal’ | For embattled JD(S), allegation makes the divide in family stark
“Our 2,500 sisters were exploited in Karnataka. Who is the one responsible for it, the alliance partner of the BJP. We came to know that he has escaped to Germany now,” Mr. Yadav said at Patna airport.
The JD(S) has suspended Mr. Revanna from the party. The Hassan MP is the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and the nephew of former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Lashing out at the BJP, Mr. Yadav said, “The Prime Minister gave the slogan ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ and he was campaigning for the same party two to three days back. What is going on? Why is the Prime Minister and Amit Shah not speaking anything over the issue? The slogan has now become Balatkari ko Bachao, Balatkari ko Bhagao (save the rapist, free the rapist).”
Mr. Yadav responded to a statement by Mr. Shah who said the INDIA bloc will have to share the post of the Prime Minister among allies if it came to power. “It means the BJP has accepted defeat and we are going to form the government,” Mr. Yadav said.
Earlier in the day, RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha released the party’s theme song for the Lok Sabha election titled ‘Apna Tejashwi’. The song talks about the developmental work carried out in 17 months when Mr. Yadav was the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
