Man with gun, gets close to garland Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah during campaign rally

In a startling breach of security, a man wielding a gun was able to approach Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, during a campaign rally. The man, identified as Riyaz, garlanded Congress leaders standing near Siddaramaiah.

The incident happened in Bengaluru, during Siddaramaiah’s campaign for Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter, Sowmya Reddy, who is also a Congress Lok Sabha candidate.

Riyaz was seen leaping onto the vehicle with a gun visibly strapped to his waist and proceeded to garland Reddy, his daughter Sowmya, and others present. The firearm was noticed by Siddaramaiah and others when Riyaz descended from the vehicle.

Police confirmed that Riyaz has been carrying the gun for self-defence after surviving a violent assault several years ago. An exemption from surrendering his weapon was granted to him.

The BJP took this opportunity to criticise the ruling Congress party, implying that those garlanded by Siddaramaiah were 'hooligans, rowdies, street thugs'.

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