Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was caught on camera snatching away a mic from a woman’s hand, hitting her hand with it and pushing her down after she tried to raise her complaint at an event held in Mysuru. The incident took place in Gargeshwari village, Varuna taluk, Mysuru where Siddaramaiah had gone to attend a Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation programme.
In the video, Jamalar, the woman, a former Congress Taluk Panchayat officer, is seen trying to put her point across. In an interview to News9, Jamalar said that she was agitated that Siddaramaiah had come to Mysuru and nobody had informed her.
When she raised this question, Siddaramaiah is seen asking her whether it was his responsibility to inform her when he comes.
Siddaramaiah is heard saying, “Have you told me how many times you have come? Have you? I cannot write letters to inform you (when I am arriving). When I come (to the office) you should come and meet me.”
Then, when Jamalar continues to voice her complaint, Siddaramaiah is seen rudely asking her to sit down. As he gestures angrily at her, at least two other men are trying to make her sit back down. Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra is seen standing next to him, asking him to calm down.
When she gets up and speaks, Siddaramaiah shouts at her and snatches away the mic that she was holding and in the process, also pulls down a part of her dupatta. He then takes the mic, tries to whack her on her hand and pushes her down to make her sit.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah misbehaves with party worker at Varuna, Mysuru during a public meeting. pic.twitter.com/kjJfqEPIY9
— Nikhita Venugopal (@nkvenugopal) January 28, 2019
Later speaking to News9, Jamalar stated that Siddaramaiah got angry because she banged her hand onto the table to emphasise her point. “I keep telling the Panchayat and taluk members to inform me when Varuna MLA (Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra) comes here. But they never do so. I wanted to inform Siddaramaiah of the same which is when I banged my hand on the table.”
As is the case for women in politics everywhere in the country, Jamalar is surrounded by scores of men, and is the only woman in the group. In the multiple clips that have emerged on the incident, the men can be seen forcing Jamalar to sit down by pushing her shoulders down multiple times. As she tries hard to make herself heard by the former Chief Minister, the man himself and the men around him make no attempt to give her a chance to speak -- instead they keep trying to 'control' her.
Hours after the incident, Siddaramaiah tried to downplay the incident on Twitter.
He tweeted, "The incident which took place in Varuna today when a party worker attempted to stop a long speech was accidental and without any bad intentions. For 15 years she has been a worker alongside us and she is equivalent to my sister."
ಇಂದು ವರುಣ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತೆಯೊಬ್ಬರ ದೀರ್ಘ ಭಾಷಣವನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುವಾಗ ನಡೆದ ಘಟನೆ ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕವಾದುದು, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ದುರುದ್ದೇಶ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. 15 ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ನಾನು ಬಲ್ಲ ಆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತೆ ನನ್ನಸೋದರಿ ಸಮಾನ.@INCKarnataka
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 28, 2019