The alleged sex tapes of Prajwal Revanna, Lok Sabha candidate of JDS, an ally of BJP and the grandson of former prime minister Deve Gowda have not only stunned the country but struck at the heart of women empowerment and Nari Shakti that political parties lately have been proudly propagating.
Nearly three thousand ’sex video clips’ which first surfaced in Karnataka in June 2023, and which were kept under wraps following a court’s gag order, returned to haunt the State on the eve of Lok Sabha elections exposing the hollowness and hypocrisy with which parties have been paying obeisance to women in the country.
If we may recall, back in 2023, Revanna had obtained a court order restraining media from reporting on the videos on the premise that they were morphed and aimed at defaming him. It was on April 21, five days before polling in Hassan, that pen drives were circulated among the public in bus stands and parks. Along with Revanna, there were several women whose faces were identified in those clips.
Action has begun to unfold now. While the Congress and BJP engaged in mudslinging over the issue, the probe has been handed over to the Special Investigation Team, and the JDS has suspended Revanna, who is believed to have been camping in Germany, till completion of the investigation.
The incident however exposes the political desperation and despair that we as a society are surrounded with, because crimes against women such as these, and on such a scale, are used as campaign tools. It is a shame that a political class that is talking about women empowerment and Nari Shakti, and making electoral promises towards that has remained numb over women being helplessly exploited and sexually assaulted.
The tapes were no secret either to the BJP or Congress, but both played mum. These tapes were leaked earlier, which is why the MP had moved court, and the tapes were a talking point in Karnataka for the past seven to eight months. The Congress has now slammed the BJP for campaigning for Revanna in the elections despite knowing the shady background of the leader. The BJP in turn has attacked the Congress government in Karnataka for not acting against Revanna all this while, and only using the episode to garner votes.
Ironically, both parties are on the wrong end of this issue. Congress’s silence is not acceptable. The government cannot offer any excuses for not acting swiftly on a crime of such magnitude. The political side is showing here. The BJP too showed electoral interest over party principles. BJP by upholding its alignment with Revanna, despite the thousands of sexual assaults on women exposes the empty show of solidarity with women.
The Congress should have acted swiftly against Revanna, irrespective of his political standing. And the BJP should have terminated its association with its alliance partner till the probe is complete. This incident does not bode well for the JDS too, a party which has been always talking about the welfare of women and showcases ‘woman’ in its party symbol.
While the Special Investigation Team has a task at hand going into the technicalities like tracking the source of videos, identifying the phone they were shot on and examining allegations of clips being doctored, the incident has shamed not only Karnataka but has left an indelible blot and a gaping hole in the narrative that political parties are standing with the women of the country.
