The recent episode in Belagavi, where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah publicly humiliated Dharwad Additional Superintendent of Police Narayana V. Bharamani, has exposed an ugly side of power arrogance that Karnataka can ill afford to normalise.
In full public view, at a Congress protest rally, Siddaramaiah chose to lash out at the officer — raising his voice and pointing fingers — simply because BJP workers displayed black flags in protest. Instead of addressing dissent democratically or countering the opposition with political dignity, Siddaramaiah chose the easiest target at that moment: an officer on duty, bound by uniform and protocol, unable to answer back.
This isn’t just about Bharamani’s humiliation. However, the fact that an honest officer felt compelled to write a two-page letter seeking voluntary retirement suggests how deeply the insult must have cut. This is about a message: when a Chief Minister bullies a senior police officer in public, what message does it send to the thousands of officers who follow? Are they tools to be scapegoated when political leaders can’t handle democratic protests? That their uniform protects them from criminals, but not from the arrogance of the elected?
Even worse, the Home Minister’s desperate damage control — “We will not accept his VRS, we will give him another posting” — only highlights how casual this administration has become about institutional respect. Instead of an unqualified apology from the Chief Minister himself, we get excuses: “It was not intentional. It happened in the heat of the moment.” How convenient! One wonders — if this is how the CM humiliates officers in public, what happens behind closed doors?
This entire episode reeks of a disturbing trend in Siddaramaiah’s leadership style: a stubborn refusal to acknowledge that power must be wielded with dignity and accountability. Leaders are watched. They set the tone. By publicly belittling a police officer for doing his duty, Siddaramaiah has demonstrated that, for him, political optics take precedence over administrative decorum
BJP leaders, such as BY Vijayendra, have condemned this attitude and stated that if the CM humiliates officers on stage, how must he treat them off stage? The Congress government’s credibility takes a hit every time such authoritarian conduct goes unchecked. Karnataka does not need a leader who shouts at officers for carrying out their responsibilities; it needs a leader who upholds the dignity of the uniform and understands that public servants are not punching bags for political theatrics.
Narayana Bharamani’s act of resignation is not just an individual’s disappointment — it is a symbolic protest against the misuse of power. If Siddaramaiah has any respect left for the very system he leads, he must not just reinstate the officer but apologise unconditionally to him and the people of Karnataka.
It is the least a Chief Minister can do — and the bare minimum a democracy should demand.
