BJP’s V Somanna ‘slaps’ woman: The many controversies of the Karnataka minister

Karnataka minister V Somanna has drawn the ire of the Opposition after a purported video of him ‘slapping’ a woman at a public function in Chamarajanagar district surfaced online last week.

After facing flak, the Housing and Infrastructure Development minister apologised on Sunday (23 October), however, he denied slapping the woman. The woman in the viral video, identified as Kempamma, also claimed later that the 72-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s hand ‘accidentally’ touched her when she was trying to hold his feet seeking redressal for her grievance, reports Times of India (TOI).

ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಹೇಳಲು ಬಂದ ಮಹಿಳೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಚಿವ ವಿ.ಸೋಮಣ್ಣ ಹಲ್ಲೆ ನಡೆಸಿ @BJP4Karnataka ಯ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಪೀಡಕ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನಾವರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.@BSBommai ಅವರೇ, ಮೋದಿಯವರ ‘ಬೇಟಿ ಬಚಾವೋ’ ಎಂಬ ಘೋಷಣೆಯನ್ನು ನೀವು ಗೌರವಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಸಚಿವರನ್ನು ವಜಾಗೊಳಿಸಿ.

ಇದು ಹಲ್ಲೆಯಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಇಡೀ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಸಮುದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಅವಮಾನ. pic.twitter.com/czxGmXctXu

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) October 23, 2022

Attacking the BJP, the Opposition Congress has demanded action against Somanna, who is also in charge of the Chamarajanagar district. Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has reportedly sought an explanation from his minister.

Notably, this is not the first time that the Karnataka housing minister has been embroiled in a controversy.

What happened at the event where the row occurred? How BJP’s V Somanna courted controversies in the past? Let’s take a closer look.

V Somanna ‘slaps’ woman

The incident took place on Saturday (22 October) when the BJP minister was at a property document distribution ceremony at Hangla village in Chamarajanagar district.

During the event, property ownership papers were allotted to landless people who were occupying government land for residential purposes, as per PTI.

A commotion ensued at the programme, organised by Hangala grama panchayat, after some women alleged a discrepancy and lack of transparency in the selection of beneficiaries.

When Somanna tried to get down from the stage, Kempamma approached him and reportedly claimed she had paid Rs 4,500 but did not receive a land title, reports TOI.

The minister, who was ‘shoved’ due to the commotion, turned angry and allegedly slapped the woman who then touched his feet, as per PTI.

Huge uproar over the incident

The Congress heavily came down on the BJP after the video of the incident went viral on social media.

Former Karnataka chief minister and veteran party leader Siddaramaiah said the incident “showed his (Somanna) culture”.

“A woman was narrating her woes to the government but she was responded with harsh words. Those in power should have patience. Somanna is unfit to be a minister,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by PTI.

“If you don’t have patience and inept to address the grievances of people then you should resign and come out of the government,” he added.

On Monday, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary Mamatha Gatti demanded the resignation of Somanna over the incident. “The act showed the minister’s attitude towards women and he should immediately tender his resignation or Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai should sack him from the post,” she said, as per PTI.

Demanding Somanna’s resignation, a local corporator in Mysuru led protests against the Housing minister, saying he “had insulted a Scheduled Tribes woman by assaulting her”, reports The Hindu.

V Somanna and the woman react

The Karnataka minister claimed he did not ‘misbehave’ with Kempamma and was only ‘trying to make her stand aside’.

“This incident is not an incident at all. I have been in politics for the past 40 years. This was a programme organised for the downtrodden and economically weaker section of society. Though I did not misbehave at all but if anyone felt hurt then I apologise and express my regret,” he told media in Chamarajanagar.

Further, he claimed the woman was continuously attempting to approach him on the stage despite him telling her not to. He added that he had told her he would resolve her issue when he comes down from the stage but she did not ‘relent’, PTI reported.

“I was trying to make her stand aside indicating her with my hand. There was no other intention other than that. I have high regards for women. I too come from a financially weaker background,” the BJP minister stated.

He said he handed over ‘Hakku Patra‘ (ownership paper) to Kempamma on Sunday.

Kempamma appeared before the media, claiming Somanna has helped the family in distress, reported The Hindu.

In a video shared by Somanna’s office, the woman claimed she was ‘not slapped’ but was only ‘consoled by the minister’.

“I bowed at his feet with the plea to grant me land and the minister lifted me consoling me that he would help me but it was publicised that he slapped me,” she said in the clip, as per PTI.

Somanna’s previous controversies

The Karnataka housing minister is not new to controversies.

Somanna, who began his political career in 1980, has been accused of allegedly submitting false information in his 2013 election affidavit.

In March this year, a special court in Bengaluru rejected ‘B’ report submitted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2018 that had called for the closure of the case.

The special court that deals with criminal cases against elected MPs and MLAs in Karnataka also ordered filing FIR against the minister, Indian Express reported.

In 2013, an RTI activist had filed a case against Somanna, a five-time MLA from Bengaluru, accusing him of acquiring assets ‘disproportionate (204 per cent) to his known sources of income’, as per Indian Express.

Somanna has also locked horns with Karnataka law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy over the urban development portfolio in Bengaluru.

According to Indian Express, at a Cabinet meeting in 2020, the Housing minister, who then was vying for the Bengaluru urban development ministry portfolio, had engaged in a verbal spat with Madhuswamy. The ministry is currently held by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

In 2019, Somanna was under fire after Kannada rapper Chandan Shetty proposed to reality show participant Nivedita Gowda during the government-sponsored Yuva Dasara event in Mysuru.

Somanna, who was then the minister in charge of Mysuru district, expressed displeasure over ‘misusing’ the government platform for a private affair and asked the police to issue a show-cause notice to them, The Hindu reported.

With inputs from agencies

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