NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday posted a video showing the Rahul Gandhi apparently pulling Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar backwards by the collar during an opposition march in New Delhi.Sarma described the episode as “public humiliation” and asked whether Shivakumar would accept the treatment.Sharing the footage on X, Sarma recalled his own fallout with the Congress leadership before joining the BJP.“In 2015, I refused to swallow humiliation, as a proud Assamese. God was kind to me,” he wrote.Questioning whether the Karnataka chief minister would respond similarly, Sarma said, “The chief minister of Karnataka is not just an individual. He is a constitutional office, and the face of a State with a glorious history, a rich culture and deep pride.”“Will he bow to this public humiliation?” he asked, adding, “‘Reinvention’ can’t hide arrogance. Change the mask all you like; the face beneath stays the same.”The video, recorded during Monday’s opposition march towards the Supreme Court, shows Shivakumar moving towards the front of the procession, where Rahul Gandhi was walking with Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AISA chief Neha Bora. As Shivakumar appeared to move ahead from Rahul Gandhi’s right, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition appeared to pull him back by the collar of his kurta. Security personnel then moved Shivakumar further back amid the crowd.The footage drew criticism from several BJP leaders, who questioned Rahul Gandhi’s conduct towards a sitting chief minister.Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya described the alleged act as an “insult to the dignity of 7 crore Kannadigas”.The BJP, in a post on its official X handle, mocked Shivakumar’s brief appearance at the front of the march, saying he arrived but “vanished like steam from a kettle”.“That’s how Rahul Gandhi treats a sitting chief minister. No respect, no regard, just Congress-style humiliation,” the party said.Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra also questioned whether Shivakumar received adequate respect from the Congress leadership.“You may wander around the state saying whatever you please, but how much respect and dignity you receive in your high command’s corridor is a matter of public knowledge across the world!” Vijayendra said. He added that any perceived insult to a Kannadiga occupying the chief minister’s office concerned the pride of the state.Karnataka deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, however, attributed the episode to the difficulty of managing security during a crowded protest. “Unfortunately, the chief minister also went there at that time, and he was pushed slightly amid the crowd,” he said, explaining that the security personnel’s primary responsibility was to protect Rahul Gandhi.
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The march was organised by opposition leaders and civil society representatives seeking to submit a memorandum to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The delegation later attempted to meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who declined to meet it.
