Womens’ protest shakes CM in rally leading to ruckus

Belagavi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has found himself at the centre of a political storm after a heated incident at a Congress rally in Belagavi, where he was caught on camera angrily summoning a senior police officer onto the stage and raising his hand in a threatening gesture.

The episode, which unfolded during the “Save Constitution” convention, has drawn sharp criticism from the people as well as opposition parties and raised questions about the Chief Min-ister’s conduct in a public setting.

The incident occurred on Monday during a Congress protest rally in Belagavi. The rally was part of a broader nationwide campaign launched by the Con-gress party, running from April 25 to May 30, aimed at promoting the theme of “Save the Constitution.”

As Siddaramaiah took the stage to address the gathering, a group of women, reportedly BJP activists, began protesting in the event.

Waving black scarves and shouting slogans against the state government and the Chief Minister, the protesters accused the Congress-led administration of misgovernance and eco-nomic failures, particularly focusing on the rising prices.

Visibly frustrated by the protest, Siddaramaiah paused his speech and called a senior police officer onto the stage, addressing him informally. In a moment that has since gone viral, the Chief Minister was seen gesturing angrily at the officer, raising his hand as if to strike him.The officer, identified as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), stepped back as the chief minister threatened to slap him. The CM tried to reprimand the ASP for failing to manage the crowd and prevent the protestors from inter-rupting the event. The Chief Minister’s actions were perceived as a public cas-tigation of the officer, igniting a row over his behaviour.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism from citizens as well as opposition par-ties, particularly the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), who have accused Siddara-maiah of arrogance and misconduct.

They accused Siddaramaiah of overstep-ping his authority and disrespecting law enforcement in a public setting. They argued that such behaviour undermines the dignity of the office of the Chief Minister and sets a dangerous precedent for how elected leaders interact with public servants.

The JDS reacted to the incident by taking to social media platform X, and stat-ing, “Despair + Impatience + Arrogance = Siddaramaiah”, implying a special mathematical formula applicable to the CM’s actions.

Siddaramaiah, however, remained defiant in the face of the criticism. Address-ing the crowd after the incident, he questioned the BJP’s audacity to disrupt a Congress rally, stating, “Are they not ashamed to come to a Congress rally and try to disrupt it? Congress workers won’t budge or fear such things.”

Despite his attempt to refocus the narrative, the image of him raising his hand at the police officer has overshadowed the rally’s intended message.

It is also to be noted that before the CM lashed out against the police, he was seen being apparently advised by three Congress leaders and ministers. How-ever, the CM disregarded the apparent advises and continued with his arrogant actions. One could also see a Congress leader switching off the CM’s stage mi-crophone while he was threatening the ASP.

Following this incident, Laxmi Hebbalkar, the MLA of Belagavi Rural was seen angrily chasing the women protestors out of the venue with assistance from Congress workers. The image of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raising his hand at a police officer during the Belagavi rally infront of a 20,000 strong audience, has become a flashpoint in the state’s already volatile political climate. While Siddaramaiah sought to address alleged issues through the “Save Constitution” campaign,his reaction to the BJP activists’ and the police has raised doubts on how he will save the constitution.