The alleged slapping of a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) assistant engineer by new BJP minister for housing V Somanna has resulted in a brouhaha in Bangalore.

The police have refused to accept a complaint of assault filed by the assistant engineer Somaraju’s wife against the minister. The minister, who recently joined the BJP from the Congress, is alleging a political conspiracy to tarnish his image before he contests crucial bypolls to help him become an MLA and remain a minister.

This ‘slapgate’ began last week with the minister severely reprimanding the assistant engineer for failure to complete civic works he had recommended in his Assembly constituency. According to the minister’s version he only gave the assistant engineer an earful. The assistant engineer is said to have collapsed a couple of hours later when he got home. According to some accounts the assistant engineer spoke to a few senior Congress leaders before collapsing. The first two hospitals his family reportedly took him to refused to admit him saying nothing was wrong. A major hospital finally admitted him.

The assistant engineer has not recovered his voice yet and doctors at the hospital have said he is still under observation.

Minister Somanna, whose switch from the Congress to the BJP is seen as a key factor in the victory of senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar in the parliamentary polls and seen as a major player in BBMP polls that are also around the corner, remains unapologetic.

The KFD conundrum

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