In a purported video doing the rounds on social media, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister in Karnataka was seen slapping a woman on Saturday, 22 October, when he was distributing land title deeds in an event.
BJP's V Somanna, minister of infrastructure development, Karnataka, was in Hangala village of Chamarajanagar district to distribute land titles when a woman confronted him about not receiving her land title deed. The minister then slapped her, it is being alleged, based on the purported video. In the video, the woman was seen touching the minister's feet, after the attack.
Later, the woman, however, defended the minister and said, "I went there to ask for help and requested him to give land. At the same time, I fell on his feet and somebody said that he slapped me. There was no slap, it is just an allegation against the minister. He consoled and helped me."
Somanna was said to have apologised after the alleged slap. His actions have drawn flak from the Opposition, with Congress asking for his dismissal.
Congress Asks for BJP's Minister's Dismissal
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a video statement, "arrogance has gone to the heads of the ministers of BJP."
"The PM makes speeches from the Red Fort about honouring women. Is this the way you are protecting and giving security to India's women? PM, will you now act and dismiss him?" he asked.
Surjewala also took a swipe at Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and asked if he held himself responsible for the "misdeeds" of his ministers.
About 175 people were eligible for title deeds for land regularisation in rural areas, under Section 94C of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act. According to the woman, she approached the Minister to narrate her ordeal of not being granted a plot under the revenue department, and that was when Somanna allegedly slapped her, NDTV reported.
This is not the first time a BJP minister has landed in such a controversy. Just last month, on 3 September, BJP Karnataka MLA Arvind Limbavali courted controversy after a purported video of him threatening and verbally abusing a woman who was protesting the demolition of her property went viral on social media.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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