Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah reiterates faith in SIT as BJP demands CBI probe into sexual abuse case against Prajwal Revanna

Amid the ongoing investigation into Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna’s case, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday reiterated his confidence in the state police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) and ruled out transferring the probe to sexual abuse charges. He also attacked the BJP for making misleading statements aimed at creating confusion among the people about the SIT conducting a “fair investigation”. He asked why the BJP did not trust the police.

“We are letting our police (SIT) carry out the investigation, we have confidence in our police. They are efficient,” Siddaramaiah said in response to a question from the BJP demanding a CBI probe.

“Will have an inquiry conducted by our police”: CM Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) once referred to CBI as the “Corruption Bureau of Investigation” and that the party never handed over a single case to the central agency during its tenure despite repeated demands from the Congress.

He also stated that he has faith in the CBI and that the cases that need to be handed over to the CBI will be handed over, but also added that SIT is an investigative agency just like the CBI and the Karnataka government is doing the work of theirs I’ll let the police take care of it.

Charges of sexual abuse of women against Prajwal Revanna and HD Deve Gowda

Haasan MP Prajwal Revanna and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda face charges of sexually abusing women. The scandal attracted political attention as the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) traded blows. While the Congress government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate, the BJP and JD(S) – NDA partners – have demanded it be handed over to the CBI.

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Siddaramaiah’s response to Pralhad Joshi accusing the Congress government of ‘witch hunting’

CM Siddaramaiah spoke about Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s alleged statement accusing the Congress government of a “witch hunt” against BJP workers in connection with the case and said the latter should speak responsibly as he is a central minister.

“BJP leaders are experts in lying, they only make false allegations,” he said, adding that the SIT was conducting a fair investigation to mislead people and create confusion; such statements would be made intentionally.

(With contributions from the agency)