After a silent protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday, former Minister and BJP MLA from Rajarajeshwarinagar Munirathna met Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at an event, touched his feet, and sought funds for his constituency.
Mr. Munirathna has alleged that the Congress government has diverted funds allocated to his constituency during the previous BJP government.
Animosity alleged
At Vidhana Soudha, Mr. Munirathna alleged that as an MLA he was not able to undertake any development work in his R.R. Nagar constituency due to lack of funds. “I don’t know why the MP D.K. Suresh [Mr. Shivakumar’s brother] has animosity towards me. I seek their cooperation to carry out development works,” Mr. Munirathna said. He alleged that funds to the tune of ₹126 crore had been diverted and distributed to other Assembly seats in Bengaluru.
The MLa said the previous BJP government had released ₹26 crore to dredge Hosakerehalli lake in R.R. Nagar Assembly constituency. Mr. Munirathna was accompanied in the protest by MLC Chalavadi Narayanswamy among others. BJP veteran and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa extended moral support.
Pursuing Dy. CM
After the protest, Mr. Munirathna left for Palace Grounds where Mr. Shivakumar was addressing a gathering after attending a groundbreaking ceremony for organising the kambala event next month. Firm on submitting the petition directly to the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Munirathna met Mr. Shivakumar and touched his feet and handed over the petition seeking release of funds.
In his speech, Mr. Shivakumar sarcastically said, seemingly amused by the goings on, “Those involved in producing films do this kind of drama.” BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayana and MP D.V. Sadananda Gowda were present on stage at this point.
‘I am an MLA’
When the police tried to prevent the MLA from meeting the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Munirathna said, “I am an MLA. I can meet the Deputy Chief Minister anywhere. You cannot touch me.” Later, Mr. Munirathna also went to Mr. Shivakumar’s residence at Sadashivanagar in the city and held a one-on-one meeting.
