Congress leaders including vice-chairperson of Governments Guarantees Implementation Committee Pushpa Amarnath along with women Congress leaders in Mysuru on Monday. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram Women Congress leaders from Mysuru led by vice-chairperson of the State government’s Guarantees Implementation Committee Pushpa Amarnath have demanded BJP MLA Munirathna’s resignation for allegedly showing gross disrespect to women and abusing a person by his caste.Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Monday, Ms. Amarnath said she found the audio tape too disgusting to hear and wondered how a responsible person like an MLA could possibly display such gross disrespect to women and speak so lowly about them.Demanding stern punishment for Mr. Munirathna, Ms. Amarnath said the women leaders from the Congress party will not rest until the MLA resigns from the Assembly.She said the BJP should expel the MLA from their party. Ms. Amarnath wondered why Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje, woman leader of BJP, had remained silent over the issue. Though she speaks on issues like the communal trouble in Nagamangala in Mandya, she has remained tight-lipped in the case of Munirathna’s alleged disrespect towards women, she said.If the BJP has any ethics or morality, the party should expel him from the party. Also, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who had lost no time in sanctioning the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged irregularities in allotment of site to his wife, should take steps to ensure that the BJP MLA Munirathna’s resigns from the Legislative Assembly.When pointed out that the BJP leaders were awaiting a report from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) to prove that the voice in the audio tape was of the BJP MLA before taking action, Ms. Amarnath said she too would be relieved if the laboratory report proves that the voice in the audio tape was not of Mr. Munirathna. For, it would restore her faith in the responsibility of a MLA, she said.Former Mayor of Mysuru Modamani and former Deputy Mayor of Mysuru Pushpavalli were among the women leaders of the Congress, who were present on the occasion. Published – September 16, 2024 07:57 pm IST