Bengaluru city’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA Munirathna Naidu has always been the most talked-about lawmaker during or after elections. The film producer-turned-legislator, a former Congressman, in a scene fit for cinema, touched the feet of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, to “plead” for fund allocation to his constituency in full public glare, taking his film skills to the next level.
One of the 17 legislators who defected to the BJP in 2019, Munirathna, to mark his protest against the alleged diversion of funds allocated to his constituency RR Nagar to another by the Congress government, first led a protest in front of the Gandhi statue within the Vidhana Soudha premises and later touched Shivakumar’s feet.
“I don’t know why the MP DK Suresh (of Congress in Bengaluru Rural) has this animosity towards me. I seek the cooperation of DK Suresh and DK Shivakumar to help with funds to carry out development works in my constituency,” Munirathna said while alleging that close to Rs 126 crore allocated to RR Nagar had been diverted and distributed to other assembly seats in the city.
Shivakumar later privately met Munirathna to address his concerns.
DRAMATIC GESTURE
DK Suresh, who is Shivakumar’s brother, termed it “another movie-like drama as he is a big movie producer. I am not sure how many more scripts he may have kept ready,” the MP added.
Munirathna Naidu and the DK brothers have had a strained relationship since the MLA switched to the BJP. Congress insiders say that during the May assembly elections, the DK brothers had put in special efforts to try and wrest the constituency from Munirathna. The Congress’s loss was seen as a major defeat of the brothers, as they played a pivotal role in helping Munirathna in 2013 and 2018.
“Drama and acting are in his DNA, and he believes he can showcase that talent as an MLA as well and get things done. The government should not bow down to such pressure tactics; instead, review the work done in that constituency before taking a decision,” said a senior Congress minister to News18.
The film producer-contractor-turned-politician was first elected as an MLA from Rajarajeshwari Nagar in 2013 and then again in 2018, both on Congress tickets. One of the 17 MLAs who defected to the BJP, which led to the fall of the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition government. He played a key role in these defections that facilitated the installation of the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state.
OTHER CONTROVERSIES
Munirathna has a long history of being embroiled in controversies. Here are some of them:
Fake bill scam: In 2018, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) named him in a fake bill scam in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The case goes back to 2014 when the MLA was accused of being involved in a scam of around Rs 1,500 crore while implementing civic works in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Malleshwaram, and Gandhinagar constituencies.
Hate speech: In April 2023, he faced legal action for his purported use of inflammatory language targeting Christians while campaigning for elections. The complaint was filed by his political rival Kusuma H, who was contesting on a Congress ticket. The case was subsequently registered on a complaint from a gazetted officer who alleged that Munirathna was inciting hostility among people.
Contractors’ case: In December 2022, D Kempanna, who serves as the president of the Karnataka State Contractor’s Association, along with four other office-bearers, was arrested in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed by Munirathna. Kempanna had spoken about corruption without naming Munirathna, who was the minister in charge of Kolar district. Kempanna also alleged that he was threatening and pressuring officials to collect and give him money.
In response, Munirathna issued a seven-day ultimatum to the contractors, urging them to present any supporting evidence. Subsequently, he filed a civil defamation case, seeking damages amounting to Rs 50 crore.
Munirathna’s name was also associated with an incident in central Bengaluru on June 1, 2010, in which a 17-year-old college girl, Sanjana Singh, died due to a BBMP wall collapse.
Voter ID card seizure: In 2018, the police filed a complaint against him and others after 9,800 fake voter IDs were found in an apartment in Jalahalli. Munirathna and 13 others were accused and charged with violating election rules. They were booked under sections of the Representation of the People Act and criminal conspiracy. Then Munirathna was with the Congress, and the BJP accused him of derailing free and fair elections. The incident also forced the Election Commission to defer the polls.
Illegal quarrying: In July this year, an FIR was registered against Munirathna and three others for using explosives during illegal quarrying. He, along with three others, was booked under the Explosives and Karnataka Land Revenue Act for allegedly carrying out illegal quarrying and using explosives to blast the rocks on land at Hunasamaranahalli. Munirathna challenged the FIR, stating he had been using gelatin on his own land and contended that a person with a licence to use gelatin is not engaged in criminal activity.
Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda film: When the Tipu Sultan controversy broke out during the May elections, BJP leader CT Ravi claimed that two Vokkaliga leaders – Uri and Nanje Gowda – had contributed to the development of the Mysuru region, not Tipu. Taking it one step further, former BJP minister CN Ashwath Narayan, while addressing an election rally in Mandya, added that “Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda finished off Tipu Sultan”, and in a similar way the Vokkaligas of the region should ‘finish off Siddaramaiah”. His statement later caused a huge outcry, and Narayan was asked to apologise.
As a film producer, Munirathna, a Vokkaliga leader himself, decided to produce a film on Uri Gowda and Doddananje Gowda and showcase in reel life how they finished off Tipu Sultan. However, he later dropped the plan after a meeting with pontiff Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji. He later said that the seer did not want to make a film that hurt the sentiments of a particular section of society. Munirathna had even registered the title “Uri Gowda Nanje Gowda” with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
Honey-trapping: In July 2023, Munirathna was also accused by Velu Naikar, a former corporator who had joined the Congress, of honey-trapping local politicians to win the elections. He alleged that Munirathna had a studio set up to carry out honey traps where leaders would be invited to visit and he later blackmailed them with the recordings. Munirathana called it a direct attempt to defame him so that another candidate could be given an election ticket.