Karnataka's Horticulture Minister Munirathna, who represents the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency, was on Sunday, April 9, booked by the police for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the Assembly elections. Munirathna has been accused of distributing sarees to voters in exchange for their votes. 

The police also booked BJP leader VC Chandru and two unknown persons in connection with the incident.

According to reports, Manoj Kumar, team leader of the Election Commission of India's flying squad, filed a complaint after they found five sarees with Munirathna's photo on them thrown on the roadside near the Global Academy of Technology in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar. 

The Rajarajeshwari Nagar police filed a case under sections 171 (b) (bribery) and 171 (e) (punishment for bribery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 123 (1) (corrupt practices) and 123 (2) (undue influence) of the Representation of the People Act.

This is the second time that Munirathna has been booked by poll officials after the MCC came into effect in Karnataka. In the first case, Munirathna was booked for his alleged hate speech against Christians in March and was charged with promoting enmity among people.

Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy's driver Ramachandrappa was also booked by the Tilak Nagar police after an FIR was registered by Election Commission officials. The flying squad had caught Reddy's car near a check post in which they had seized books containing the leader's image.