Mysore/Mysuru: Hundreds of Congressmen including Legislators staged a protest at Gandhi Square here this morning, under the banner of Mysuru City and District Congress Committee, demanding the resignation of BJP MLA Maadal Virupakshappa of Channagiri constituency, in Davangere, who is the prime accused in the graft case booked by Lokayukta Police in Bengaluru, in which his son Prashanth Maadal (a Karnataka State Accounts and Audit Services officer) and three others are already arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Addressing the protesters, Varuna MLA Dr. Yathindra Siddharamaiah said, “BJP Government in the State is deep into corruption and yet again it has been proved that it is a ‘40% Commission Government.’ The Government is indulged in corruption ever since it came to power, but only one case has surfaced.”

Karnataka State Contractors Association has also written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about large scale corruption, but there is no action yet. If the Congress Govt. were to be in power, we would have sought the resignation of the MLA. CM Basavaraj Bommai should resign owning moral responsibility, Dr. Yathindra demanded.

H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu alleged that ‘Even the MLAs should grease the palms of those at the helm in BJP Government to seek funds for the constituency.’

Former MLA M.K. Somashekar said, ‘If Lokayukta raids happen on a daily basis, several crores of rupees of ill-gotten wealth will be unearthed.’

The protesters held posters with the portraits of CM Basavaraj Bommai and MLA Maadal Virupakshappa and images of bundles of currency notes, which were crossed with a black mark. The slogans in Kannada read ‘40 percent Commission BJP Government’, ‘420 MLA’, highlighting the rate of corruption in current dispensation.

Hunsur MLA H.P. Manjunath, President of City Congress R. Murthy, President of Rural Congress Committee B.J. Vijaykumar, KPCC Spokesman M. Lakshmana, former Mayor Narayan, former Corporator Shivanna and several other leaders took part in the protest.