KOLAR: Congress leader and former Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar is in news for the wrong reasons again.
This time he allegedly heckled two journalists who were covering a Congress party workers’ meeting in Kolar on Friday.
Kumar lost his cool when the journalists tried to video-shoot the meeting in which his followers and supporters of former Union Minister K H Muniyappa were involved in a heated altercation.
Both groups were abusing and pushing each other. Many Congress leaders including KPCC vice-president Narayanaswamy and legislators K.Y.Nanje Gowda, Anil Kumar, Nazeer Ahmed and ex-MLA Kothur Manjunath were present in the meeting during the chaos.
Some party workers climbed the stage and protested.
When two journalists were recording it, Kumar allegedly heckled them on stage. The meeting, called to discuss Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s birthday plans, ended abruptly due to the fracas. As the news of the incident spread, journalists staged a protest in front of Congress Bhavan.
Kumar however had left the venue but his supporters - Malur Congress MLA KY Nanje Gowda and MLC Anil Kumar apologised to the media.
Kolar District Journalists Association president Gopinath, who led the protest, said the journalists were only doing their duty and did not deserve to be treated in this manner.
He said the incident is highly condemnable and that as a senior leader Kumar should show respect to media persons.
Poster row
The trouble started when Muniyappa’s supporters protested against his posters not put up on the route to Congress Bha van in Kolar despite banners of the other leaders being there.