The External Affairs Ministry on Friday issued a show cause notice to Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna in the sex tapes case, according to sources. The suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader sparked controversy after multiple explicit videos allegedly involving him surfaced last month.
The Centre's show cause notice came after the Karnataka Chief Minister wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the latter to cancel the diplomatic passport of Hassan MP, who has been absconding after the sex tapes surfaced last month.
The central government's request marks an escalation in its efforts to bring back the fugitive leader, who reportedly fled to Germany after the scandal broke out.
On Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also addressed questions about cancellation of Revanna's diplomatic passport.
"MEA got this request from the Karnataka Government only on the May 21. People were saying a lot of things to the press. I don't know how other governments/state governments function. We in MEA at least function as per the law," he said.
According to sources, the MEA is undertaking the process to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport under the provisions of the Passports Act of 1967 as well as related regulations.
If the passport is cancelled, then Prajwal's stay abroad will be illegal and he may face legal action by authorities concerned in the country he is staying, a person familiar with the matter said.
Earlier, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government to probe the sexual abuse charges against Prajwal also wrote to the MEA to cancel his diplomatic passport after an arrest warrant was issued against him by a local court.
A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on Revanna's whereabouts has already been issued by Interpol following a request by the SIT.
Earlier this month, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Prajwal travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport, and he did not seek political clearance for the trip.
"No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany," Jaiswal had said.
"Obviously, no visa note was issued either. No visa is required for diplomatic passport holders to travel to Germany. The Ministry has not issued visa notes for any other country," the MEA spokesperson said.
