"What did I do to her? Did I rape her?". This is what Karnataka BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali told a reporter who asked him why he threatened a woman activist in public. Ruth Sagay Mary, who also works for the Congress party, had tried to meet Limbavali during his visit to the flood-affected areas in Whitefield. Limbavali tried to snatch the petition from her and when Ruth asked him to listen to her woes, he burst out and threatened her. In a video that went viral, he can be heard saying that he will get her booted into prison.
On September 3, a reporter with Kannada news channel Digvijaya TV approached the MLA for his reaction to this episode. A clip the channel put out shows the MLA in an off the cuff conversation with the reporter before the interview begins.
"You are speaking in favour of women. Speak in favour of the people. That's what I am trying to tell. What have I done? Have I raped her?", the MLA asks the reporter.
Ruth had earlier spoken to the media about how the police detained her. "MLA Limbavali has instructed the police to boot me out into the prison repeatedly. He told me that, do you have any respect and honour? You encroach the land and now you come in front of the MLA. He also asked the police to drag me to the police station and made me sit there," Ruth stated.
The activist maintained that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is trying to demolish her property built in 1971. Whatever may be the problem, the MLA could have behaved properly with me in a public place, she stated.
Ruth alleged that she was kept in the police station till 10 pm and was not allowed to make any calls. She also alleged that MLA Limbavali tried to drag her hand and came to hit her. In his defence, Limbavali has stated that he had only asked the woman to clear the encroachment.
This is not the first instance of arrogance involving MLA Limbavali. In July this year, a tweet from Whitefield Rising about Bengaluru’s infrastructure woes and citizen despair over lack of coordination tagging the handle of Mahadevapura Task Force-Mobility, and the latter’s response to the comments it evoked had turned into a full-fledged Twitter war. Mahadevapura Task Force is headed by BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali and regularly gives updates on roads, traffic management, sustainable mobility, metro and suburban rail. But the handle often receives criticism for their way of handling citizen concerns through Twitter.
In another instance in June, the MLA’s daughter Renuka Limbavali was caught on camera arguing with traffic police and name-dropping when she was stopped for a traffic violation on Bengaluru’s Raj Bhavan Road. “I was not driving rashly. Will you book me for overtaking the ACP’s car? What is this? This is an MLA vehicle, for your information. What is an ACP’s vehicle and what is an MLA’s vehicle?” Renuka was heard saying in the video that surfaced.
Meanwhile, Revenue Department official Parthasarathy has lodged a complaint against Ruth alleging obstruction to their duty, with Whitefield police station.