DK Shivakumar slapped the arm of the man who was trying to click a selfie with him.
Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar lost his cool on Monday when a man took a selfie during his interaction with the media at an event in Belgaum. The irked minister hit the man - a video of which was circulated widely.
The video showed the minister -- while talking to reporters at the event on child rights -- turn around and see the man, who was trying to click a selfie with him. Irked, Mr Shivakumar slapped the man on the arm in front of the cameras.
The minister later defended his action, saying it was a "normal incident".
"Have basic common sense. When I'm carrying out my responsibility and addressing the press, how can someone come out for a selfie? It was a normal incident," he said.
Mr Shivakumar, who handles the energy portfolio in the Siddaramaiah government, was raided by the Income Tax authorities in August. Sources had told NDTV that more than Rs 300 crore of "undisclosed income" was found during the raids.
The raids took place as 43 Gujarat lawmakers were flown into Karnataka by the Congress to check a rash of defections ahead of Rajya Sabha Election in the western state. Mr Shivakumar, who had been in charge of looking after the lawmakers, was picked up for questioning from a luxury resort in Bengaluru where he was staying with them.
Denying any wrongdoing, the minister had said, "I'm not the kind of person that violates the law and the Constitution... the truth will come out".
Questioning the timing of raids, his party, the Congress had accused the government of misusing Central agencies.