Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Caught Sleeping on Stage, Again

This is not the first time the Karnataka CM has dozed off on stage.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah was seen sleeping at a public event.

(Photo: ANI screengrab)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, infamous for such incidents, was caught sleeping on stage in an event held in Karnataka’s Madikeri town, on Tuesday, 9 January.

A three-minute-long video clip shows the CM comfortably napping on stage while the function is going on. What seems more bizarre is that none of the people sharing the stage with him is bothered enough to wake him up.

This is not the first time Siddaramaiah has dozed off at a public event. According to Asianet, in May, last year, the CM was found sleeping at a press conference and had to be alerted by Congress leader Lakshmi Hebbalkar.

According to an old report by NDTV, in 2016, Siddarmaiah fell asleep during an Indian Science Congress function, which was also attended by PM Narendra Modi. The report added that the CM appeared to be fast asleep during three public functions in 2014. It also cited regional media as saying that Siddaramaiah has a sleep disorder which he had tried to cure with yoga.

This is not the only controversy courting the Karnataka CM. Recently, in the ongoing war of words between him and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Siddaramaiah hit back at the priest-turned-politician who asked him to prove his Hindu credentials.

“A lot of Hindus eat beef. If I want to eat, I will, who are they to tell me not to consume beef. I don’t eat beef only because I don’t like to. He should read what Swami Vivekananda said about cow slaughter before preaching us,” Siddaramaiah said, according to the Times of India.

Siddaramaiah also questioned Yogi’s own credentials in tending to the cow before attacking him, and tweeted “Has Yogi Adityanath, who is preaching us about conservation of cows, ever grazed cows? I have reared cows, grazed them and cleaned dung. He does not have any moral authority to speak on the issue.”

(With inputs from The News Minute.)