Absence from debates and low turnout mark Prajwal’s lukewarm period as | Latest news India

New Delhi/Bengaluru: The appearance as MP of Prajwal Revanna, the (secular) representative of Janta Dal from Hassan in Karnataka, who is being investigated by the state police for sexual harassment and assault, captured in 2,972 clips allegedly leaked by his former driver , Karthik, is below the national average in terms of parameters of attendance, questions asked and participation in debates.

The Karnataka Police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a sexual assault complaint against Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo, HD Deve Gowda, and his father, HD Revanna. Revanna left for Germany on April 27, hours before a case was registered against him. He will return on May 16. The JD(S) and the BJP are allies in the ongoing elections.

According to data shared by the PRS Legislative Survey, a non-governmental organization that tracks the performance of Members of Parliament, Revanna’s Lok Sabha attendance between 2019 and 2024 was just 55%, much lower than the national average of 79% for the MPs visiting their respective homes.

Revanna asked only 89 questions in five years, which means he asked less than 18 questions in a year. This translates to six questions in a session as the Lok Sabha meets three times a year for budget, monsoon and winter sessions, according to the PRS and Lok Sabha websites. The last question he asked was in February 2024, on why Karnataka does not have an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), to which the Health Ministry replied that a proposal to have AIIMS in Hubli-Dharwad region has been received but not has been approved. .

In the 17th Lok Sabha, Revanna has the dubious distinction of asking the least number of questions compared to 27 other Lok Sabha members from Karnataka. The national average of questions asked by MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha was 210.

The only Janata Dal (S) candidate to win the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and once considered the emerging leader of the party, Revanna participated in just two debates in Lok Sabha in five years.

The first on June 25, 2019 was a motion of thanks to the President’s customary address for the first session of a new Lok Sabha. A year later, in September 2020, he was among about thirty speakers on the government’s resolution to repeal the three farm laws.

Revanna has not introduced a single bill or resolution for private members in five years, while the national average is two for MPs. He also made no special mention during Zero Hour, a platform for the MPs to raise important issues that may not be covered in the discussions and debates that day.

In five years as an MP, Revanna was also nominated to the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Water and Trade. However, the Lok Sabha website does not provide attendance details of committee meetings he attended.

Reacting to the details, Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal said, “This is not surprising at all. Now we know what kept him busy. What a terrible legacy he leaves behind as an MP. This must be the only person in history who has attacked so many women. How did he behave in Delhi? With his staff in Delhi? The courts should also stop issuing orders to elected representatives over their videos. It only encourages them further.”

The BJP spokesperson in Bengaluru declined to comment saying it was an internal matter of JD(S). JD(S) core committee chairman GT Devegowda did not respond to calls for comment on the issue.

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