Video clip shows Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slapping officer in public

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah landed in a controversy on Saturday after television channels aired a video footage which showed him slapping an officer in public.

Siddaramaiah was in Ballari to inaugurate the Valmiki Bhavan where he was surrounded by a crowd which wanted to get closer to him. In the footage, the chief minister appears to lose his cool, raising his right hand, slapping the officer and saying angrily he should be given way.

Later, he was seen walking away without any remorse. The video clip went viral by afternoon. The officer at the receiving end was Ballari City Corporation Commissioner P G Ramesh.

CM, officer deny

The chief minister stoutly denied slapping anyone. On his Facebook account, too, he said he had not raised his hand against anyone and he was saddened by such news being aired by TV channels.

Not just the chief minister, even Commissioner Ramesh and Ballari SP Chethan R said no such incident took place. The SP said the commissioner slipped and was about to fall and “then the chief minister told him to go slow”.

Another version is that there was a huge crowd when Siddaramaiah arrived to inaugurate Valmiki Bhavan. Ramesh, security personnel and other politicians were accompanying the chief minister. Ramesh tripped as one of the security personnel stamped his foot.

However, he regained balance and continued to walk along with the chief minister.  At this juncture, Siddaramaiah patted the officer signalling him to give way. He also patted on the shoulders of the security personnel and rebuked them.

Ramesh said, “...it is not me, it’s security; it’s security and not me. I stumbled, so the CM told his security not to push, that’s all,” but the video footage narrates a different story.