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BJP MLA gatecrashes DKS event in RSS uniform
Chaos erupted at a Bengaluru outreach event when BJP MLA Munirathna criticized organizers for excluding local representatives, leading to a heated confrontation.
Chaos broke out at JP Park in north Bengaluru on Sunday during deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar’s “Walk with Bengaluru” public outreach when Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna, wearing an RSS uniform, gate-crashed the programme and accused organisers of sidelining local representatives.
Shivakumar, who had walked the park route for nearly two hours before beginning the grievance redressal session, spotted Munirathna in the crowd and called him to the stage, saying, “MLA, come here. Aye, the black cap MLA.”
Munirathna seized the microphone, accused the organisers and the Greater Bengaluru Authority commissioner of failing to invite the constituency’s MLA or MP and lashed out at the absence of elected representatives and their photos on event banners.
Munirathna, who arrived at the venue after attending an RSS event and initially sat among the public, told Shivakumar, “I am not invited to the event. Yet, as a citizen of the city, I have come to sit with you,” and later added, “This is a state government program. I am happy that they have invited me (now). But there is no MP or MLA at the venue. I don’t know whether this is a grievance redressal program.” He also urged officials to “Learn to give respect to MLAs first,” while accusing the organisers of turning the outreach into a Congress event.
Tensions escalated as Munirathna’s supporters shouted slogans and Congress workers objected.
Police moved in and escorted the MLA out after his black cap -- part of the RSS attire -- fell off in the scuffle.
Munirathna refused to leave quietly and sat in protest outside the park with his supporters, later telling reporters, “I came here after attending the RSS commemoration event. They removed the RSS cap and assaulted me,” and alleging, “They are trying to get me killed. They either want me to resign as MLA or see me dead. They have disrespected the RSS by removing my cap.”
Shivakumar defended the programme as a citizen-focused initiative, saying it was not an official government function and therefore no formal invitation list was maintained. He urged officials to continue the event and said of Munirathna’s conduct, “He (Munirathna) might be mentally affected to behave this way in a public event.”
Responding to the MLA’s claims, the deputy chief minister called Munirathna’s presence in RSS uniform provocative and said, “He is bringing disrepute to RSS. What is the connection between the RSS and this event?”
He added that anyone could have spoken at the forum and noted, “He could have spoken here as an MLA. Residents of the constituency chased him away.”
The confrontation added to a long-standing rivalry between the two leaders.
Munirathna, a former Congress member who joined the BJP in 2019, retained the RR Nagar seat in 2023 despite strong efforts by the Congress to unseat him. The contest has been further heated by recent electoral losses in nearby segments, including the defeat of Shivakumar’s brother in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra criticised Shivakumar’s handling of the episode, accusing the deputy chief minister of insulting a people’s representative and the RSS uniform. In a social media post he said, “There is no place for a culture of thuggery in a democratic system. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has disrespected the Constitution and democracy by insulting a people’s representative. By not inviting the local MLA Munirathna to the public outreach meeting organized within the jurisdiction of Munirathna MLA’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency, behaving rudely with the MLA, and insulting the RSS uniform he was wearing, it amounts to the height of arrogance.
