A massive row erupted after a Congress worker took off Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's shoes holding tricolour in hand. The incident was reported during Gandhi Jayanti celebrations earlier in the day. A video that has gone viral on social media showed a Congress worker with the Tiranga in his hands removed shoes from the feet of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah as he arrived to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary.
A man present at the spot, removed the flag from the worker's hands as he continued removing the shoes.
The incident has prompted an attack from the BJP, which has accused the Congress leader of "insulting the nation's pride".
The development comes at a time when CM Siddaramaiah is already under fire from the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), over his alleged involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 'scam'.
The controversial video also sparked outrage among people on social media, who said it was distasteful and called for the flag being respected.
Criticizing the incident, senior BJP leader Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy said it was an insult and showed the Congress' "culture".
"It's an insult to the Nation's pride, this is the culture of Congress party leaders, they must apologise to the Nation," Reddy wrote on X.
Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah, who is facing ED and Lokayukta probe over the Mysuru land allotment controversy, invoked Mahatma Gandhi and said the "court of conscience" was above all courts.
he also said Gandhi's life and thoughts have given him courage, strength and hope in his "current struggle," in an apparent reference to the respective agencies' probe over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 'scam' pertaining to allotment of 14 sites to his wife, where the opposition is demanding for his resignation as CM.
