Karnataka’s chief minister Siddaramaiah was visibly embarrassed after a woman kissed his cheek at a public meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The incident occurred at a public ceremony organized by the Karnataka Pradesha Kuruba Sangha to felicitate the newly elected members of zilla and taluk panchayats.
Girija Srinivas, a member of the Tarikere taluk panchayat from Amruthapura in Chikmagalur district, was seen standing beside the CM while posing for a group photo before she gave a peck on Siddu’s cheek in a moment of joy and walked away.
#WATCH: A woman kisses Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah during a state-level program of Kuruba Community in Bengaluru.https://t.co/oyG6IuqROW
Speaking to a TV channel later, the woman said that she was happy that the CM was also a Kuruba and called him a “lion of the community”. She made it abundantly clear that her family considers Siddaramaiah as a ‘fatherly’ figure and that the kiss wasn’t premeditated.
Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah too clarified the embarrassing incident and said, “That girl is like my daughter.”
Girija hails from Varuna in Mysuru district which is Siddaramaiah’s assembly constituency. She is married to a man from Chikmagalur.
