Trouble for 'Savukku' and BJP leader’s reluctance to campaign for Tejasvi Surya

Welcome to Powertrip, a newsletter exclusively curated for TNM subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna. In this week’s newsletter, we tell you all about the new trouble brewing for Savakku Shankar, the Karnataka SIT’s dilemma over arresting Revanna, and why a BJP leader was unwilling to campaign for Tejasvi Surya..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.Trouble for Savukku ShankarControversial YouTuber and whistleblower Savukku Shankar was arrested recently for his comment that women police officers were giving sexual favours to a top cop. The AIADMK has been voicing opposition against the arrest and it has been reliably learnt that AIADMK leader SP Velumani was helping to arrange lawyers for Savukku.This isn’t the first time that Savukku is getting arrested. In September 2022, he was sent to prison in a contempt of court case. But many who know Savukku closely say that support for him has dwindled from the last time around due to various reasons.The DMK, which is facing some criticism for the arrest, maintains that they gave Savukku a long rope and did not do anything against him even when he made personal remarks against the Chief Minister and his family, shared the CM’s foreign trip itinerary, and discussed the CM’s health issues in public. However, when Savukku made a comment against police officers, the police top brass insisted on his arrest, which the government okayed. The political calculation is that since Savukku made remarks against police officers, leaders like AIADMK’s EPS and BJP’s Annamalai will be unable to support Savukku beyond a point.Police sources say they had kept the operation a top secret as Savukku who has impeccable sources in the department normally always gets to know about any complaint or FIR against him and preempts action. This time, the FIR was kept a secret and a special police team was dispatched to make the arrest. The police claim more people are approaching them with complaints on Savukku and after due diligence, a few will be converted into FIRs, spelling more trouble for the YouTuber. SIT’s dilemma over Revanna’s arrestIt is no secret in Karnataka that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was supported by JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda’s son Revanna years ago when Siddaramaiah was a JD(S) leader and wanted to take over the reins of the party. This relationship, however, became the topic of many conversations recently as both Revanna and his son Prajwal were accused of different crimes, including sexual assault and kidnapping. Online, many people asked if the CM was going slow on the probe. According to sources in the CM’s office, this irked the CM who insisted that a Special Investigation Team had to be formed.Though the CM gave clearance for the SIT, the SIT was initially hesitant to record FIRs as they wanted watertight cases. In the case of the woman who was kidnapped by Satish Babanna, a henchman of Revanna, cops say that the family was unwilling to file a complaint initially. The son finally agreed when more members of the family came under threat. The SIT’s plan was to arrest Satish Babanna, question him, and get his confession about Revanna’s involvement if the family did not cooperate.The CM’s office is meanwhile all set to form a committee of lawyers and counsellors. Their numbers will be made public so that survivors can reach out for both legal protection and mental health and trauma counselling. When a BJP leader did not show up for Tejasvi SuryaWe have learnt that Tejasvi Surya, the BJP candidate from Bangalore South, wanted BJP leader and former Deputy CM R Ashoka to campaign for him. But Ashoka chose to stay away from most rallies. Ashoka is also the sitting MLA from Padmanabha Nagar, which falls within Tejasvi’s LS seat. But on the day of the joint campaign, Ashoka did not turn up and instead deputed his son.Now the reason for Ashoka’s no-show was that Tejasvi had written to BJP president BY Vijayendra last year saying Ashoka should not be appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly. Tejasvi was perhaps acting at the behest of BJP Organising Secretary BL Santhosh who didn’t want Ashoka as LoP since he is from the Yediyurappa camp.Confused? Well, that’s how confusing political camps are. The bottomline is, Tejasvi didn’t want Ashoka and told Vijayendra. Vijayendra in turn informed Ashoka and Ashoka said no to Tejasvi..Zero HourA political story of public importance.The Rs 60,000 Crore Question the BJP Needs to Answer About its Financials.In sharp contrast with a troubled economy, the party is getting richer. And there is a huge gap between what the party says it has collected and the money it has clearly drawn on to build hundreds of swanky offices and out-spend every other political party election after election..PowermovesTop 5 political storiesHow Chandrababu Naidu’s Singapore vision for Amaravati has got him in a legal tangleIn Holenarsipura, Deve Gowda family’s dominance ensures no one questions PrajwalFrom ‘strong support’ to ‘let’s debate it’: The shifting stance of RSS on reservations A decade lost: How LGBTQIA+ rights fared under BJP govt and the way forwardA massive 'sex abuse' case hits a general election, but primetime doesn't see it as news

Trouble for 'Savukku' and BJP leader’s reluctance to campaign for Tejasvi Surya

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