Complaint Filed Against Siddaramaiah Over Dupatta Incident with Karnataka Women’s Commission
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Mandya (Karnataka), Dec 23 (NationPress) A formal complaint has been filed against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with the Karnataka State Women’s Commission on Monday regarding the contentious episode involving the dislodging of a woman’s dupatta while he was attempting to snatch a microphone from her.
The event transpired in 2019 within the Varuna Constituency, located in Mysuru district.
BJP Mandya Spokesperson C.T. Manjunath has raised this complaint and called upon the Women’s Commission to initiate a suo moto case concerning the matter.
This complaint has been submitted online. In his appeal, Manjunath has requested the President of the State Women’s Commission, Nagalakshmi Choudhary, to pursue action against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, similar to how the Commission addressed the case against BJP MLC C.T. Ravi regarding his alleged derogatory comments about Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.
“In this incident, CM Siddaramaiah had pulled a woman’s dupatta and humiliated her. We are unaware if that woman has lodged a complaint or not. There is a possibility that she might have been intimidated into not filing a complaint,” Manjunath remarked.
In January 2019, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah found himself embroiled in controversy when he was involved in a verbal confrontation with a woman, during which he snatched the microphone from her, causing her dupatta to become dislodged at an event in Varuna, Mysuru.
The incident, which occurred during a public interaction featuring Siddaramaiah, his son—then MLA Yathindra, and others, was recorded on video, which subsequently went viral.
This meeting was organized to discuss enhancing the party’s presence in the constituency and had previously been held by Siddaramaiah ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
While the BJP condemned the incident, then Chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma stated that the panel would contact Karnataka Police to seek appropriate action regarding the situation.
The footage revealed a heated exchange between Siddaramaiah and Jamalar, a former district panchayat member, who expressed her dissatisfaction with his son Yathindra for only appearing seven months after his election.
Siddaramaiah contended that his son regularly visits the constituency, a claim that Jamalar vehemently denied.
The woman struck the table, which further provoked Siddaramaiah, who yelled at her and forcibly instructed her to take a seat.
When she hit the table again, Siddaramaiah lost his temper and seized the microphone, causing her dupatta to become entangled.
Later, Siddaramaiah turned to Twitter (now X) to downplay the incident, describing it as an accident and stating that the woman is akin to his sister.
"While attempting to curb a lengthy speech from a party worker, the incident occurred; it was an accident… there was no ill intent. I have known her for 15 years; she is like my sister," he tweeted.
