NEW DELHI: The
diplomatic passport
of suspended JD(S) MP
Prajwal Revanna
, who has been accused of sexually abusing several women, cannot be cancelled or revoked unless there is a court order, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
“Revocation of diplomatic
passport
can only happen as per the provisions of the Passport Act … the provisions state that passport can be revoked only after a court order …
we have no such court direction yet,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the weekly press briefing.
The MEA’s response came a day after Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to take necessary steps through the ministry of external affairs so that the tainted BJP leader can return to India to join the probe into the allegations of sex videos.
Revanna reportedly flew to Germany on his diplomatic passport just days before the controversy broke.
“No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany. Obviously, no visa note was issued either. No visa is required for diplomatic passport holders to travel to Germany. The ministry has also not issued any visa note for any other country for the said MP … Yes, he travelled on a diplomatic passport,” said Jaiswal.
Siddaramaiah, in his letter, wrote that Prajwal fled the country sensing the impending arrest and travelled abroad on a diplomatic passport. “While the SIT is working round the clock to investigate the allegations of crimes against several woman by Prajwal Revanna, getting him back to the country is of utmost importance so that he faces investigation and trial as per the law of the land,” Karnataka CM wrote.
In his first reaction to the controversy, Prajwal Revanna, has said that “truth will prevail”.
“As I am not in Bangalore to attend the enquiry, I have communicated to C.I.D Bangalore through my Advocate. Truth will prevail soon,” he had tweeted.
Sex tapes scandal
Prajwal, 33, is the grandson of JD(S) chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, and the son of former minister and current MLA H D Revanna, who too has been accused of sexual harassment.
Nearly 3,000 explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal sexually abusing several women had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.
Prajwal has been suspended from the Janata Dal (Secular) over his alleged involvement in the ‘
obscene videos
‘ case.
A decision in this regard was taken at the party’s core committee meeting on Tuesday.
The committee recommended the suspension of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing an SIT probe in connection with an alleged obscene video case.
(With inputs from agencies)
