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Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has claimed that 25,000 pen drives with videos of women being sexually abused allegedly by his nephew, Lok Sabha election candidate Prajwal Revanna, were distributed before polls, and accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar of a conspiracy.

The former chief minister also sought to discredit the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Congress government on April 28 to probe the charges against Prajwal of sexually abusing several women after videos allegedly involving him started making the rounds on social media.

"It is not a Special Investigation Team but 'Siddaramaiah Investigation Team' and 'Shivakumar Investigation Team'," the JD(S) second-in-command, who is the son of party supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, said.

MLA H D Revanna and his son and Hassan MP Prajwal have been booked for allegedly molesting their cook. In another case, Revanna has been booked and arrested for allegedly kidnapping a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal. A case of rape has also been registered against Prajwal.

Addressing a press conference here, Kumaraswamy said the pen drives were circulated by police officers who were "threatened to do it".

“It (pen drive carrying videos) was released in Bengaluru Rural constituency (where the Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha elections is D K Suresh, who is the brother of Shivakumar). This was an April 21 development. On April 22, Poornachandra, our polling agent, gave a complaint to the District Deputy Commissioner, who is the Returning Officer,” the JD(S) leader said.

“Poornachandra received a message at 8 pm on April 21 asking people to 'follow a WhatsApp channel to see Prajwal Revanna’s sleaze video'. There was a message on this WhatsApp channel, 'Countdown for the release of Prajwal’s sleaze videos'," Kumaraswamy further said.

According to Kumaraswamy, one Naveen Gowda had sent the message about the "countdown".

In his complaint to the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of Hassan district, Poornachandra has named five people including Naveen Gowda, Karthik Gowda (Revanna’s driver), Chethan and Puttaraju alias Putty, he said.

It has been more than a fortnight since the complaint made on April 21 but no action has been taken against these five people, Kumaraswamy said and demanded that they should first be arrested for "mortgaging the modesty" of women in the videos.

Kumaraswamy alleged that 25,000 pen drives were distributed in the entire state, and cited a report in a regional daily to support his claim.

“My question here is why no action was taken. If someone posts something on social media, immediately houses are searched and the person is made to sit in the police station. Why no action was taken against these five people despite a complaint?” he asked.

"Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had confidently said that all the three JD(S) candidates in the Lok Sabha elections will be defeated," Kumaraswamy said, adding, "It raises doubts about the involvement of many people."

On April 25, Karnataka State Commission for Women Chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to Siddaramaiah demanding an SIT probe into the tapes where Prajwal is allegedly seen sexually abusing several women. The same night, the CM gave his nod and ordered the formation of a SIT, Kumaraswamy said.

“In that letter, Nagalakshmi Chowdhary did not mention the name of Prajwal or Revanna but the chief minister called it ‘Prajwal Revanna’s explicit videos’ in his post on X when he announced the formation of SIT. This shows how the conspiracy was hatched,” the JD(S) leader claimed.

He also alleged that the first complaint "framing" his brother H D Revanna and nephew Prajwal was typed on a computer in Bengaluru and was sent to Holenarasipura, which is represented in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly by Revanna, on April 28.

“It’s not a Special Investigation Team but there are two teams within it – one is ‘Siddaramaiah Investigation Team’ and another one is ‘Shivakumar Investigation Team’,” he charged.

He said the ‘convenor’ of the 'pen drive story', Karthik Gowda should be traced first and brought before the people.

“Going through the conspiracies, one can doubt the intention behind the investigation because more than protecting the women victims, you are limiting the scope of the probe only to defame people,” Kumaraswamy further alleged.

He underlined that he was not trying to protect anyone. “I have said that in this case I will not protect anyone doing wrong. Stringent punishment should be given to the person involved in this crime as per the law of land."

Bengaluru: The Congress and BJP will lock horns on the electoral battleground again in less than a fortnight in Karnataka, as the stage is set for the second phase of elections in the 14 remaining Lok Sabha seats on Tuesday.

It is going to be a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Parliamentary segments in the northern districts. The JD(S) is not contesting in these seats and is supporting its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner -- the BJP.

The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The first phase of polling in 14 seats in most of the southern and coastal districts was held on April 26.

A total of 227 candidates -- 206 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for the second phase.

More than 2.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 28,269 polling stations where voting will take place between 7 am to 6 pm.

The segments where elections will be held on Tuesday are: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had swept all these 14 seats, defeating Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state then.

Having scored a thumping victory in the Assembly elections last year, the Congress now appears determined to put up a strong show.

Karnataka is the most important state for the BJP in south India as it's only here that it has held power in the past.

Speaking to PTI, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said adequate security arrangements have been made for Tuesday's polling.

"Around 1.45 lakh polling officials have been deployed across the 14 constituencies. In addition, 35,000 civil police personnel, 65 companies of Central Paramilitary forces and armed police of other states will be deployed for the polling day," he said.

Besides this, 4,000 micro-observers will also be on duty and 17,000 polling stations will be covered by webcasting, he added.

Davangere has the maximum number of 30 candidates, followed by 23 in Shimoga and Raichur has the least number - eight.

Former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and Jagadish Shettar (Balgaum), Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and Bhagwanth Khuba (Bidar) -- all from BJP; Congress' Geetha Shivrajkumar (Shimoga) -- wife of actor Shivrajkumar and daughter of former CM S Bangarappa and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani (Gulbarga), are among the prominent names in the fray.

Also in the contest are MP and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, suspended party leader and former Deputy CM K S Eshwarappa -- both from Shimoga, former Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and ex-Minister B Sreeramulu of BJP from Uttara Kannada and Bellary respectively and retired IAS officer G Kumar Naik of Congress from Raichur.

Stakes are high for several Ministers in this phase with their children in fray.

Sons of Ministers Laxmi Hebbalkar and Eshwar Khandre - Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar and Sagar Khandre - are contesting from Belgaum and Bidar respectively, while daughters of Ministers Satish Jarkiholi and Shivanand Patil -Priyanka Jarkiholi and Samyukta Patil- are in contention in Chikkodi and Bagalkot respectively.

Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S S Mallikarjun and daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is in the fray from Davangere.

The Congress' performance in the elections, especially in the second phase which covers almost all Lingayat-dominated districts, is crucial, as the party did not win one of them in 2019, and to also check whether the grand old party has managed to retain the support of a section of Lingayats -- considered as the BJP's core vote-base -- which seemed to have somewhat shifted towards it in the 2023 Assembly polls.

The Lok Sabha election is being seen as a big test of sorts for Congress state unit chief D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret of his ambition to become chief minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term. The stakes are also high for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as victory in this election is seen as key to strengthening his hands, analysts say.

It is also seen as a kind of a "litmus test" for state BJP president B Y Vijayendra, who has the onerous task of helping the party retain its supremacy in the Lok Sabha polls, by regaining its traditional Lingayat vote-base.

Ensuring a BJP sweep is paramount for the son of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa, to consolidate his position and silence critics who have questioned his selection to the post, overlooking seniors and seasoned hands.

The ruling Congress is mostly banking on the implementation of its populist five guarantee schemes while the BJP seems to be leveraging the "Modi factor" to the hilt.

In scorching heat on a busy Kolkata street last month, commuters sought refuge inside a glass-walled bus shelter where two air conditioners churned around stifling air. Those inside were visibly sweating, dabbing at their foreheads in sauna-like temperatures that were scarcely cooler than out in the open.

Local authorities initially had plans to install as many as 300 of the cooled cabins under efforts to improve protections from a heat season that typically runs from April until the monsoon hits the subcontinent in June. There are currently only a handful in operation, and some have been stripped of their AC units, leaving any users sweltering.

“It doesn’t work,” Firhad Hakim, mayor of the city of 1.5 crore, said on a searing afternoon when temperatures topped 40C. “You feel suffocated.”

Attempts in Kolkata and across India to improve resilience to extreme heat have often been equally ill-conceived, despite a death toll estimated at more than 24,000 since 1992. Inconsistent or incomplete planning, a lack of funding, and the failure to make timely preparations to shield a population of 140 crore are leaving communities vulnerable as periods of extreme temperatures become more frequent, longer in duration and affect a wider sweep of the country.

Kolkata, with its hot, humid climate and proximity to the Bay of Bengal, is particularly vulnerable to temperature and rainfall extremes, and ranked by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as among the global locations that are most at risk.

An increase in average global temperatures of 2C could mean the city would experience the equivalent of its record 2015 heat waves every year, according to the IPCC. High humidity can compound the impacts, as it limits the human body’s ability to regulate its temperature.

Even so, the city — one of India's largest urban centres — still lacks a formal strategy to handle heat waves.

Several regions across India will see as many as 11 heat wave days this month compared to 3 in a typical year, while maximum temperatures in recent weeks have already touched 47.2C in the nation’s east, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. Those extremes come amid the Lok Sabha election during which high temperatures are being cited as among the factors for lower voter turnout.

At SSKM Hospital, one of Kolkata’s busiest, a waiting area teemed last month with people sheltering under colorful umbrellas and thronging a coin-operated water dispenser to refill empty bottles. A weary line snaked back from a government-run kiosk selling a subsidized lunch of rice, lentils, boiled potato and eggs served on foil plates.

“High temperatures can cause heat stroke, skin rashes, cramps and dehydration,” said Niladri Sarkar, professor of medicine at the hospital. “Some of these can turn fatal if not attended to on time, especially for people that have pre-existing conditions.” Extreme heat has an outsized impact on poorer residents, who are often malnourished, lack access to clean drinking water and have jobs that require outdoor work, he said.

Elsewhere in the city, tea sellers sweltered by simmering coal-fired ovens, construction workers toiled under a blistering midday sun, and voters attending rallies for the ongoing national elections draped handkerchiefs across their faces in an effort to stay cool. The state government in April advised some schools to shutter for an early summer vacation to avoid the heat.

Since 2013, states, districts and cities are estimated to have drafted more than 100 heat action plans, intended to improve their ability to mitigate the effects of extreme temperatures. The Centre set out guidelines eight years ago to accelerate adoption of the policies, and a January meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority pledged to do more to strengthen preparedness.

The absence of such planning in Kolkata has also meant a failure to intervene in trends that have made the city more susceptible.

Almost a third of the city’s green cover was lost during the decade through 2021, according to an Indian government survey. Other cities including Mumbai and Bengaluru have experienced similar issues. That’s combined with a decline in local water bodies and a construction boom to deliver an urban heat island effect, according to Saira Shah Halim, a parliamentary candidate in the Kolkata Dakshin electoral district in the city’s south. “What we’re seeing today is a result of this destruction,” she said.

Hakim, the city’s mayor, disputes the idea that Kolkata’s preparations have lagged, arguing recent extreme weather has confounded local authorities. “Such a kind of heat wave is new to us, we’re not used to it,” he said. “We’re locked with elections right now. Once the elections are over, we’ll sit with experts to work on a heat action plan.”

Local authorities are currently ensuring adequate water supplies, and have put paramedics on stand-by to handle heat-induced illnesses, Hakim said.

Focusing on crisis management, rather than on better preparedness, is at the root of the country’s failings, according to Nairwita Bandyopadhyay, a Kolkata-based climatologist and geographer. “Sadly the approach is to wait and watch until the hazard turns into a disaster,” she said.

Even cities and states that already have heat action plans have struggled to make progress in implementing recommendations, the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research said in a report last year reviewing 37 of the documents.

Most policies don’t adequately reflect local conditions, they often lack detail on how action should be funded and typically don’t set out a source of legal authority, according to the report.

As many as 9 people have already died as a result of heat extremes this year, according to the meteorological department, though the figure is likely to significantly underestimate the actual total. That follows about 110 fatalities during severe heat waves during April and June last year, the World Meteorological Organization said last month.

Even so, the handling of extreme heat has failed to become a “political lightning rod that can stir governments into action,” said Aditya Valiathan Pillai, among authors of the CPR study and now a fellow at New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative.

Modi's government has often moved to contain criticism of its policies, and there is also the question of unreliable data. “When deaths occur, one is not sure whether it was directly caused by heat, or whether heat exacerbated an existing condition,” Pillai said.

In 2022, health ministry data showed 33 people died as a result of heat waves, while the National Crime Records Bureau – another agency that tracks mortality statistics – reported 730 fatalities from heat stroke.

Those discrepancies raise questions about a claim by the Centre that its policies helped cut heat-related deaths from 2,040 in 2015 to 4 in 2020, after national bureaucrats took on more responsibility for disaster risk management.

Local officials in Kolkata are now examining potential solutions and considering the addition of more trees, vertical gardens on building walls and the use of porous concrete, all of which can help combat urban heat.

India’s election is also an opportunity to raise issues around poor preparations, according to Halim, a candidate for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), whose supporters carry bright red flags at campaign events scheduled for the early morning and after sundown to escape extreme temperatures.

“I’m mentioning it,” she said. “It’s become a very, very challenging campaign. The heat is just insufferable.”