BENGALURU: Karnataka health minister B.Sriramulu stoked controversy on Tuesday after he participated in an event where a few hundred people had gathered, flouting social distancing norms.
The gathering in Chitradurga, about 200 km from Bengaluru, saw people cheering on as an earth mover raised a huge garland of apples to felicitate the minister.
The crowd also showered flowers on the minister. "He had gone to conduct a pooja ceremony when locals gathered and facilitated him," said a member of Sriramulu's media team.
The minister could not be reached for comment. Sriramulu had triggered a similar controversy when around 100,000 people attended the lavish wedding ceremony of his daughter in Bengaluru on 5 March.