Trinamool Congress has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shielding BJP leaders who are allegedly facing serious charges of sexual violence. TMC's comments come after Karnataka BJP MLA Munirathna was named in an FIR filed by a 40-year-old woman who alleges gang-rape and assault.
TMC posted a video on its official X handle on Thursday showing a news clip about the case, alongside headlines about similar allegations against other BJP leaders, including Brij Bhushan Singh and Prajwal Revanna.
The caption read: “This isn’t the first time a @BJP4India leader has been accused of sexual misconduct, and it certainly won’t be the last. Because @NCWIndia and @India_NHRC won't lift a finger. And PM @narendramodi refuses to utter a word against the predators festering within his own party.”
According to the FIR filed at RMC Yard police station in Bengaluru, the incident took place at Munirathna’s Mathikere office on June 11, 2023. The woman, a BJP worker, said she was taken to the office by the MLA’s aides under the pretext of resolving false cases registered against her.
Inside, she alleged, she was forced to strip, threatened with her son’s life, gang-raped, and urinated on. She also said Munirathna injected her with an unknown substance and later threatened her against speaking out.
In January, she was diagnosed with what doctors said is an incurable virus, which she believes came from the injection.
The woman said she attempted suicide on May 19. After surviving, she approached police and lodged the complaint.
The FIR names Munirathna and three others, with one unidentified accused. Charges include Sections 376D (gangrape), 270 (act likely to spread infection), 323 (causing hurt), 354 (outraging modesty), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting modesty), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
Trinamool posted another statement on X on Wednesday: “.@BJP4India is overflowing with degenerate scum who have ZERO REGARD for women’s dignity. SEXUAL VIOLENCE is their unofficial party policy. Their Karnataka MLA Munirathna and his accomplices have been booked for gangraping a woman, urinating on her, and injecting her with virus. If Modi ji had even a shred of remorse, he'd never dare utter ‘Nari Suraksha’ or ‘Nari Shakti’ again. And as always, @NCWIndia sits in deafening silence, complicit in their servitude to BJP.”
Neither the Prime Minister nor the National Commission for Women has responded to the latest accusations.
In a separate case from September 2024, another 40-year-old woman accused Munirathna of raping her repeatedly between 2020 and 2022. That FIR, filed at Kaggalipura police station, also accused him of forcing her into conspiracies involving honey-trapping politicians with HIV-infected women. Six others were also named.
Munirathna also faces charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A complaint filed at Vyalikaval police station in Bengaluru alleges that he demanded a bribe of Rs 36 lakh and accepted Rs 20 lakh in a contract-related case. The CID initiated a preliminary inquiry and has received approval to continue its investigation.
This week, another BJP leader from Gujarat joined the growing list.
On Monday, Surat police arrested BJP Ward 8 General Secretary Aditya Upadhyay and his friend Gaurav Rajput for allegedly drugging and gang-raping a 23-year-old woman. The party suspended Upadhyay after the arrest.