BJP MLA on hunger strike, demanding funds for constituency

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP MLA Muniratna Naidu sat on a hunger strike on Wednesday demanding release of funds for development works in his assembly constituency. He sat in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru and demanded the release of funds for his Raja Rajeswari constituency.

The former minister was accompanied by his colleagues who carried the BJP flag and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his brother MP D.K. They were holding placards against Suresh. However, the police detained more than 10 of Munirathna’s companions. MLA Muniratna continued fasting and dharna alone. The MLA has alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar is acting out of personal vendetta against him. The amount of Rs 126 crore given for his constituency during the previous government led by then CM Basavaraj Bommai was allotted to various constituencies by the Congress government.

Munirathna had demanded that the allocated funds should be given to his constituency and was on a one-day hunger strike against the Congress government to protest against the injustice done to his constituency. The BJP MLA had said that the funds were allocated to Yesvantpur, Byatarayanapura and Pulakeshinagar constituencies of Bengaluru.

Earlier, he had said that he would not hesitate to paw Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development Ministry, to get funds. Shivakumar and his brother Suresh had tried their best to win the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency in the assembly elections. However, Congress candidate H. Kusuma lost by 11,842 votes. Munirathna got 1.27 lakh votes in the elections.