Siddaramaiah loses temper as woman raises issues in constituency

Mysuru: Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday lost his temper at a public event in Mysuru when questioned by a woman about the issues faced by public in his son Yathindra's Varuna constituency in the district.

Visibly agitated by the woman's questioning, the former Karnataka Chief Minister snatched the microphone from her and along with it pulled a section of her 'dupatta' and forced her to sit down.

The incident took place at a public gathering in which Siddaramaiah took part along with his son Yathindra, a legislator from Varuna in the same district, about 150 km southwest of state capital Bengaluru.

Speaking to the media later, the woman, Jamalar, said she was trying to point out to the Congress leader that the Revenue Department in the constituency was not functioning well and the legislator (Yathindra) was not reachable.

"I was trying to raise the issues being faced by public in the constituency and not being able to reach the MLA regarding them ... for which he got angry," Jamalar said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa said it was "unfortunate and unbecoming" of a former Chief Minister to not allow a woman to speak.

"It would have only taken few minutes to listen to the woman and respond to her issues. It is unfortunate that a former Chief Minister behaved the way he did," Yeddyurappa told the media.

Taking to Twitter later, Siddaramaiah said the incident was an "accident" and Jamalar was a party worker whom he had known for 15 years.

"The incident that happened, when I tried to stop our party worker for taking more time, was an accident. I know that woman for more than 15 years now and she is like my sister," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Congress state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao said Siddaramaiah got agitated as the woman was banging on the table.

"He was only asking for the microphone as he had to attend meetings later. There was no ill intention," Rao told a news channel.