The BJP on Saturday dubbed Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar a “rowdy” after a video went viral showing him slapping a man who had his arms around him.
The incident took place Friday at KM Doddi in Mandya where Shivakumar went to visit veteran politician G Madegowda who is ailing.
The 50-second video that was widely shared on social media shows Shivakumar slapping a party worker and then chiding him. “You should be responsible,” Shivakumar is heard telling him, before asking cameramen there to delete the footage.
“Being the president of a national party, it is unforgivable to publicly assault a man,” the BJP said in a tweet with the hashtag #RowdyDKS in Kannada. “If D K Shivakumar can attack a party worker for having come close to him, what will happen to commoners? Are you trying to become the brand ambassador of hit-and-slap politics?” the BJP tweeted.
The BJP also tweeted past video clips that show Shivakumar slapping supporters and party workers trying to take a selfie.
BJP national general secretary C T Ravi, in a tweet, pointed out Shivakumar’s past association with notorious Bengaluru don Kotwal Ramachandra. “If this is how the “former shishya" (disciple) of Kotwal Ramachandra treats his party worker, one can imagine what he would do with others. Have you given DKS the "licence for violence",” Ravi asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
(Published 10 July 2021, 10:24 IST)
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