Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Trouble mounts for Revanna father-son duo as more victims emerge, and more

In the rape case registered against Prajwal Revanna in Bengaluru on May 1, a 44-year-old political worker has accused the Hassan MP of raping her in his official quarters in Hassan city in 2021. The complainant told the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that the JD(S) leader allegedly threatened to kill her and her husband if she did not cooperate before raping her at the MP quarters in Hassan city in 2021. She alleged that Prajwal Revanna recorded the sexual act on his phone and blackmailed her with the footage, forcing her to have sex with him multiple times between January 1, 2021, and April 25, 2024. 

Meanwhile, his father and former Minister H.D. Revanna has now been booked for kidnapping one of the alleged victims sexually abused by Prajwal. The alleged victim earlier worked as a maid in H. D. Revanna’s household for six years. A video of her being ‘raped’ by Prajwal Revanna is in circulation, police sources said. Read The Hindu’s complete coverage of the case here.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, who is the BJP’s Vokkaliga face in Karnataka, accuses Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of trying to reduce the Lok Sabha elections to the level of Assembly polls as the Congress cannot compete with the BJP on national issues.

In an interview with The Hindu, he points out that the Congress’ poll narrative in Karnataka does not mention national issues, or its own national leaders, fearing that they cannot be compared with BJP stalwarts. Read excerpts from the interview.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur Lok Sabha constituency on April 23, accused the Congress of “snatching the reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs and providing it to Muslims through the backdoor”, tying it up with his charge that “Congress would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims”. He claimed that Congress had already done so in Karnataka and said it was “against the spirit of the Constitution” as it did not allow reservation on religious grounds. 

With regards to the 4% reservation provided to Muslims under Category 2B of the OBC reservation matrix in the State, he said that “religion-based reservation affects and works against the ethics of social justice”. Is Muslim Reservation new in Karnataka? How are Muslims categorised in the OBC reservation matrix of Karnataka? Read here.