BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said BJP should expel former minister and Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA Munirathna from the party after the latter’s audio clip, allegedly making derogatory remarks against Dalits and threatening a BBMP contractor went viral.
“BJP state president @BYVijayendra and leader of opposition @RAshokaBJP preach about the law and order of the state, do they have the courage to stand up and speak in front of their own hooligan MLA Munirathna? Now BJP leaders are left with two options. One is to support Munirathna’s statement and admit that they are anti-Dalit, or to publicly apologise to the Dalit community and expel Munirathna from the party,” Siddaramaiah posted on ‘X’.
‘Cleanse stinking mouth’
“BJP leaders who talk about rituals and culture, should first cleanse the stinking mouth of your MLA Munirathna and then advise the rest,” he taunted.
He further alleged that the BJP’s slogan that ‘we are all Hindus’ is only limited to the election season, as they never treat Dalits and the oppressed of this country as Hindus and one among them.
“Munirathna’s words were proof of the hatred, jealousy and impatience filled in the minds of BJP leaders towards these communities. In the viral audio, Munirathna insulted Dalit and Vokkaliga communities in the most obscene manner,” the CM added.
Munirthna demanded money from a garbage contractor, Chaluvaraju, a Vokkaliga, and threatened to kill him if the money was not paid, the Chief Minister alleged.
“All these are crimes of very serious nature. Even if the 40% commission government is gone, the inheritance remains. Now we will definitely deliver this filth to where it should be kept in the cleanliness campaign that we have undertaken,” the CM said.
Meanwhile, contractor Chaluvaraju met Siddaramaiah on Saturday.
Dalits to protest
Dalit leaders from Congress, led by MLC Sudham Das, in a joint press conference on Saturday attacked BJP MLA Munirathna besides coming down heavily on the saffron party as it did not take any action against him.
“The government should appoint a special public prosecutor and take strict action against him. The community will protest until he goes to jail. Dalits will fight fiercely until justice is achieved,” thundered Das. He further said Munirathna has umpteen cases against him. “He is fit to be in jail permanently,” Das said.
On Tuesday, members of various Dalit organisations will lay siege to state BJP office, said Dalit leader Hennuru Srinivas.
Another leader B Gopal alleged that Munirathna insulted the Dalits, Vokkaligas and women.
