PM Modi should apologise for seeking votes for 'mass rapist': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 2 May, alleged that the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha seat Prajwal Revanna had raped 400 women, and lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for seeking votes for a "mass rapist" and sought his apology.

The Congress leader during his election rallies in the district headquarters towns of Shivamogga and Raichur also demanded that a case should be registered against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that he was aware of the activities of Prajwal and his father and former minister H D Revanna after a local BJP leader had flagged the issue.

Hundreds of explicit video clips allegedly involving the 33-year-old MP have gone viral in Hassan in recent days.

"This is not a sex scandal but mass rape. The Prime Minister should apologise to the mothers and sisters of India. Prajwal Revanna rapes 400 women and makes videos," Gandhi alleged.

"The prime minister supported the mass rapist on the stage. He (Modi) told Karnataka that if you voted for this rapist, it will help me," Gandhi alleged and added: "Every woman in Karnataka should know when the Prime Minister was asking for your vote, he was aware of what Prajwal did."

Gandhi also claimed that the prime minister knew about the sex scandal and could have got Prajwal arrested within seconds. But Modi allowed him to flee the country, he claimed.

Prajwal, grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, is facing allegations of sexually abusing women. The state government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the charges.

The now-suspended JD (S) leader had left for Germany after the voting in his constituency had concluded on April 26. The JD(S) joined the NDA in September 2023.

Gandhi said a BJP leader wrote a letter to Shah stating that Prajwal was raping women but no action was taken.

"If Amit Shah knew this, then the Prime Minister also knew it. Why is Modi protecting him (Prajwal), why is he promoting him and why is he seeking votes for him," the Congress leader asked.

The Congress leader also said that Shah allowed Prajwal to flee the country despite knowing about him. A case should be filed against Shah because, among the victims, there were minor girls below the age of 16 years, Gandhi claimed.

"All the agencies were with them, such as CBI, Customs, Immigration and the ED. The PM knew about it, he could have arrested him in a second, which he did not do and allowed him to flee," Gandhi charged.

"The women of Karnataka know that you protected Prajwal Revanna because you wanted power and alliance. The PM and HM, the two people who control the nation, protected him," the former Congress president alleged.

"This is the difference between our and their (BJP) ideology. They can do anything for power. There is no limit. There is no meaning to the pains and sufferings of women," he said.

Gandhi said Modi has to answer to every woman in the country, why he protected Prajwal and why he was allowed to flee the country.

He said the prime minister now fears visiting Karnataka and claimed: "He (Modi) has cancelled all the meetings and escaped."

"Dear Prime Minister, don't run away from Karnataka. Come here and tell the country about Prajwal Revanna," Gandhi said.

He further alleged that every BJP leader was aware that Prajwal was a "mass rapist" and yet they supported him and the party formed an alliance with the JD(S).

"The PM has insulted every woman of India. The prime minister, home minister Amit Shah and all the BJP leaders should apologise to every woman of the country," he said, claiming that no leader in the world would have asked for votes for a "mass rapist".