A politician linked to one of the world’s most powerful men has been embroiled in a massive scandal in the middle of the nation’s general elections.
Current Indian Prime Minister Modi, who is tipped to reclaim the position after 10 years in power, has been thrown a political curveball after recently posing for a picture with Prajwal Revanna, who is now being accused of sexual abuses allegedly caught on camera.
Revanna, is a member of the Janata Dal, which is currently in alliance with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The 33-year-old, who is also the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, had allegedly filmed himself sexually abusing multiple women.
Almost 300 videos are believed to have been leaked by his former driver.
Prajwal has denied the allegations, claiming the videos were doctored, and has fled for Germany after being suspended by his party, Janata Dal (Secular).
The party was central to the BJP’s plan to haul together a coalition majority in the nation’s state of Karnataka.
Naturally, India’s opposition party, called the Indian National Congress, has jumped on the scandal, heavily criticising Mr Modi and the BJP.
Rival politicians have erupted on social media, with protests sprouting up in the cities of Hubballi, Hassan and Bengaluru.
The world’s largest democracy will see 970 million voters take to the polls before results are announced on June 4, with votes already coming in.
“Just hearing about his heinous crimes makes my heart tremble. He has ruined the lives of hundreds of women. Modi, will you remain silent?” Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on X.
The BJP has also been accused by Congress members of being aware of the videos before they were leaked.
In 2023, Karnataka BJP leader Devarajegowda warned the party against nominating Prajwal as a candidate from Hassan.
“There are grave allegations against several leaders of the Deve Gowda family (including Prajwal Revanna, the NDA candidate) of the JD (S), the party that we are in alliance with,” his letter said.
Gowda, Prajwal Revanna’s grandfather, insisted his family and the current party leadership had no prior knowledge.
“If there is any wrongdoing, action should be taken,” he said.
Alka Lamba, the president of the Congress Party’s women’s wing, said the scandal had “shaken the conscience” of India.
“In these videos, some recorded against the consent of the victim, women are pleading to be spared but MP Prajwal Revanna continues to brutalise and sexually violate them,” she said.
A police investigation has now been launched by the Congress-led state government into the scandalous allegations.
Meanwhile, S Prakash, the BJP’s chief Karnataka spokesman, condemned the actions depicted in the videos and criticised the state government for politicising the issue.
“The case of MP Prajwal Revanna is shocking. BJP’s stand on this matter is clear – we stand with the power of Nari Shakti [women’s power]. BJP will never tolerate humiliation of Nari Shakti,” S Prakash, the party’s chief Karnataka spokesman, said via news publication Al Jazeera.
“Even though the Congress government is in power in Karnataka, it is doing politics instead of taking strict action. Instead of asking us questions, congressmen should question the Congress government in the state.”
Modi denies India sliding towards autocracy
Earlier this week, Mr Modi denied that his country was sliding towards autocracy, following accusations that his government orchestrated criminal probes to weaken rivals ahead of an ongoing general election.
The Indian leader, 73, remains resoundingly popular after a decade in office, and he is widely expected to win a third term when the six-week-long national polls conclude in June.
His prospects have been further bolstered by several criminal investigations into opponents, including a tax probe that in February froze the bank accounts of Congress, India’s largest opposition party.
But Mr Modi said the suggestion India was becoming “an electoral autocracy” under his rule was a fiction spread by his disgruntled rivals.
“Because the opposition is not able to get power, they start defaming India on the world stage,” he told the Times of India newspaper in an interview published Monday.
“They spread canards about our people, our democracy and our institutions.” India’s press freedom rankings have declined markedly since Mr Modi took office in 2014, while restrictions on civil society have seen rights groups such as Amnesty International severely curtail their local operations.
This year Mr Modi is being challenged by a motley alliance of more than two dozen political parties, several of whom have leaders either under investigation or in jail facing criminal charges.
Mr Modi’s chief opponent Rahul Gandhi, the son, grandson and great-grandson of past Indian prime ministers, was briefly disqualified from parliament last year after being convicted of criminal libel.
The 53-year-old faces numerous other active criminal cases, several of which were brought by members of Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
– with AFP