Bengaluru, 29 April

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday blamed BJP workers for their attitude at a meeting that led Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lose his cool and allegedly raise his hand at a police officer on the stage.

During an agitation against the price rise of essential commodities in the district headquarter town of Belagavi on Monday, a few women showed a black flag to Siddaramaiah as he stood up to address the gathering. The CM was upset by this sudden development and turned angry at the poor security arrangements.

Amid the commotion, as the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Narayan Bharamani, climbed on the stage, the chief minister approached him, raising his hands. He later shouted at the officer, "Who is the Belagavi SP? What's happening here? What are you doing here?"

Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said he did not have the complete information apart from whatever had appeared in the newspapers.

"I don't have any other information about why the chief minister turned upset. I will gather information and later react to it," he said.

"The preliminary information I have is that some BJP workers from Mahila Morcha (women's wing) entered the venue sporting Congress shawl," the minister said.

The BJP workers did not say anything when other Congress leaders were speaking. "However, when the chief minister stood up to speak, they showed him a black flag and staged a demonstration," he added.

Parameshwara said he has asked the Director General of Police to find out whether any lapses have taken place.

On the BJP's allegation of security lapse, Parameshwara said the BJP workers should have entered the venue wearing their party shawl and not the Congress' one. If they had come to the venue wearing BJP shawl, then the police would have come to know that there was a security lapse, he added.

He sought to know what moral right the BJP has to wear the Congress shawl?

The incident gave the BJP an opportunity to target the chief minister.

In a post on 'X', the BJP said, "Laying hands on an on-duty police officer is not just an attack on a person. It's an attack on the law and the people of Karnataka".

Running a hashtag of 'Death Of Democracy in Karnataka', the party said, "This isn't leadership, this is dictatorship - no less than Aurangzeb. A black day for Karnataka."