Vokkaliga ministers, MLAs seek stern action against BJP MLA for obscene comments on women

A group of Vokkaliga Ministers and MLAs on Monday met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday and urged him to take the strongest possible action against BJP MLA Munirathna Naidu for allegedly using obscene language against Vokkaliga women and lowering their dignity as revealed by leaked audio tapes.

Vokkaligas are the second largest community in Karnataka, after Lingayats.

Ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy and MC Sudhakar led the delegation of Congress MLAs and MLCs.


The four-time BJP MLA from RR Nagar in Bengaluru is currently in police custody after he was arrested on Saturday on charges of hurling slurs at a member of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community and demanding bribes from a municipal contractor. The contractor Cheluvaraju said he will release two more explosive audio tapes on Tuesday involving Munirathna.

Women & Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar visited the contractor and offered protection to him and his family.

Naidu was a Congress lawmaker earlier, who switched to the BJP in 2019 along with other Congress and JD (S) lawmakers, helping the BJP form the government.

Trouble for the 60-year-old BJP MLA started after audio tapes containing an alleged conversation between him and Cheluvaraju emerged in which a person, alleged as the BJP leader, could be heard using abusive language against the SC community while pressing for his share of bribes. He identified the contractor by his community (Vokkaliga) and made obscene references to his wife and mother.