A war of words broke out between Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh and BJP's RR Nagar candidate Munirathna Naidu after the latter cried in front of cameras. On Wednesday, Munirathna Naidu, who defected from Congress to BJP, turned emotional in front of the media before he set out for the election campaign. "I was with your party (Congress) for ten years. Now you (referring to DK Suresh) have said that I have sold my mother for politics. Does this bring you any good? You have spoken about my mother like this. I am begging you, please leave my mother out of this. How can I sell someone who died 25 years ago?" Munirathna alleged as he broke into tears.
Watch: BJP candidate Munirathna Naidu cries in front of television cameras
The video of Munirathna's emotional reaction went viral on Wednesday and on Thursday, parliamentarian DK Suresh, brother of Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar, lashed out against Munirathna and lauded him for his "acting skills". DK Suresh issued a clarification stating that he had not made any statement against Munirathna's mother and that the BJP candidate had allegedly edited a clip out of his speech and made the accusation out of context.
On Tuesday, a video clip of DK Suresh stating, "he sold his mother for money" was doing the rounds on WhatsApp. DK Suresh alleged that Munirathna and the BJP were "experts at cutting and pasting" and that his speech had nothing to do with Munirathna's mother.
"In my campaign speech I had said, 'Munirathna used to openly say that the Congress is his mother and his lifeblood. After he defected from the Congress, he has betrayed his own mother (referring to the Congress party). He went to BJP for money and does this not mean he has sold his mother? Earlier there was Congress' blood coursing through his veins and now its saffron.'" DK Suresh said on Thursday after the video of Munirathna crying went viral.
DK Suresh on Thursday, lashed out against Munirathna, and said that he should praise the latter's "acting skills". "He is a film producer. Cutting and pasting is something he is an expert at. He also knows how to make people act and how to act in front of the camera. His acting skills should be praised. I am a responsible person and I do not make such statements about anyone's mother," DK Suresh went on to allege.
DK Suresh further stated that Munirathna was crying in front of cameras to gain sympathy as he was scared that voters in RR Nagar would defeat him. "He is trying to get sympathy and crying in front of the camera is just a trick," Dk Suresh said.
Reacting to DK Suresh's statement, Munirathna Naidu on Thursday refuted the Bengaluru Rural MP's claims. He said that he had "no need for sympathy" and that his campaign was based on the developmental works he had previously done for the constituency. The RR Nagar seat became vacant after Munirathna resigned as an MLA and defected from Congress to BJP. He was one of the 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs, who had helped bring down the coalition government in 2019.