JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing sex abuse allegations spoke out a month after the case surfaced, saying that he will return to India and appear before the Special Investigation Team on May 31.
“I will personally on Friday, May 31 at 10 am will come before the SIT and will cooperate with the investigation and will respond to it (charges). I have faith in court and I am confident I will come out of false cases through court,” Pajwal said in a video statement aired on Kannada TV channel Asianet Suvarna News, PTI reported.
There was no independent confirmation from the JD(S) or the family of the suspended party MP immediately over the matter.
“Let God’s, people’s and family’s blessing be on me. I will surely come before SIT on May 31, Friday. After coming, I will try to put an end to all this. Keep faith in me,” he added.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda and the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.
He had reportedly left the country last month before an FIR was lodged against him in connection with the allegations, drawing sharp criticism. In a video released on Monday, he said that his trip was “pre-planned”.
Gowda had last week said said his grandson should be punished “if found guilty”. The family distanced itself from Revanna soon after the charges surfaced.
The case has turned into a political flashpoint this election, with the Congress accusing the BJP of forming an alliance with a “tainted” MP and his party. The Opposition has also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning for Revanna before the videos came out.
Modi has condemned the case and said “stringent punishment” would be taken against the accused. The BJP, meanwhile, has accused the Congress of “allowing” the accused to flee the country from a state that it governs.
With PTI inputs