By: Express News ServiceOctober 12, 2025 05:12 PM IST 4 min readDeputy CM D K Shivakumar hit back, saying Munirathna was politicising the issue and damaging RSS’s image. (File)The ‘Bengaluru Walk’ event, chaired by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, was witness to dramatic events on Sunday, after BJP MLA Munirathna engaged in an altercation and later staged a protest at the venue for not being invited to the program despite being the local MLA.Organised by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and its affiliated corporations, the event was held to address the grievances of the public. Munirathna, who arrived at the venue after participating in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event, initially sat among the members of the crowd.“MLA, come here. Aye, the black cap MLA,” Shivakumar said, calling Munirathna to the stage.The MLA walked to the stage and asked Shivakumar to hand him the microphone, even as the deputy CM asked him to sit on the stage. “I am not invited to the event. Yet, as a citizen of the city, I have come to sit with you,” he said and went back.He was invited again by the organisers to the stage, after which he returned and said, “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 said.Training his guns at the chief commissioner of GBA, Maheshwar Rao, the MLA said that he was not extended an official invitation. “Learn to give respect to MLAs first,” he said, accusing the event of being a Congress event and not a program to address public grievances.This caused pandemonium at the event as Congress workers objected to Munirathna even as he continued to level allegations against the event. They demanded that the MLA walk off the stage while the police scrambled to prevent any untoward incidents. They started raising slogans against him while the MLA sat on stage and refused to move.Story continues below this adHe was eventually escorted off the stage by the police and GBA officials, amid sloganeering by Congress workers against the MLA. He later told reporters that he was insulted and assaulted at the venue. “I came here after attending the RSS event. They removed the RSS cap and assaulted me,” he alleged. He also staged a protest later.Responding to the developments, Shivakumar said that Munirathna was politicising the issue. “He is bringing disrepute to RSS. What is the connection between the RSS and this event?” he said, adding that it was an insult to the institution.“He could have spoken here as an MLA. Residents of the constituency chased him away,” the minister said. This was not a launch event, but rather a grievance redressal program. Anyone can attend, he said, responding to allegations by the MLA that he was not invited.The rivalry between the two has escalated over the past few years. Munirathna, who was previously with the Congress, jumped ship to the BJP in 2019. Though the Congress went all guns blazing to ensure the defeat of the MLA at RR Nagar constituency in 2023, Munirathna succeeded in retaining the seat. The defeat of Shivakumar’s brother D K Suresh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls at Bangalore Rural constituency – which includes the RR Nagar segment – added to the conflict between the two.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd