'Harried' HMT Layout ward corporator resigns

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike council on Thursday witnessed high drama when the Congress corporator from HMT Layout ward Asha Suresh tendered her resignation to Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy, protesting the atrocities by her own party MLA from Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency Munirathna.

The woman corporator alleged that the Munirathna is unduly intervening in the affairs of the ward. She complained that the MLA is bullying her. She further said that there is a threat to her life and also to her family members from the MLA.

“We never faced problems in the last 15 years when our constituency was represented by the MLAs from other political parties. Ever since Munirathna won the election, no development activities have taken place in our area. He is threatening the engineers to interrupt the development works in my ward.”

She alleged that the MLA has written to the BBMP commissioner seeking the latter to stop grants to HMT Layout ward. He has blocked the Letter of Credit in her ward. The corporator sought to know whether she was a thief to be meted out with such treatment.

Asha Suresh demanded a thorough investigation into the financial irregularities committed in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency since stacks of BBMP files were found at

Munirathna’s house and the Lokayukta is probing the matter.
Alarmed by the aggressive accusation by the woman corporator, Mayor Reddy tried to ease the tension.

He asked Asha Suresh to refrain from making any allegation in the absence of the MLA when he was not in the council meeting. He also advised her to raise this issue in the party forum rather than discussing it in the public. Soon, Asha Suresh got a backing by the BJP corporators who asked the Mayor to allow her to speak. In response, Mayor took the opposition BJP to task for ‘misleading’ her and adding fuel to the fire.

MLA plans libel suit
Meanwhile, Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA Munirathna, countering the allegations, has accused the corporator in question and her family members of harassing him and making false and concocted allegations against him. The MLA told reporters, “I am hurt by the words used by Asha and am going to file defamation suit against her.”

Munirathna further said that in HMT Layout ward there are three corporators- Asha, her husband and her brother-in-law.

“HMT ward is in my constituency. I do not need anyone’s permission to go there. In the last five years, works worth Rs 50 crore have been implemented in the ward. I have orally requested the BBMP commissioner for inquiry into the illegalities that have taken place in the works but have not written any letter so far,” the RR Nagar MLA Said.Replying to a query on whether he would ask the corporator to withdraw her resignation, the MLA said, “The corporator has handed over her resignation letter to Mayor during Council meeting and it is up to the Mayor to decide on it. I will do what the party asks me to.”

BBMP ruling party leader R S Satyanarayana has said that Mayor has not accepted corporator’s resignation.

A meeting will be held soon during which Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy will talk to the warring parties Munirathna and Asha and solve the issue amicably, he added.
DH News Service