Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. | File image

Badami: Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday courted a fresh controversy by making a shocking statement about people wearing vermillion on their forehead.

Speaking at an event to inaugurate a lake rejuvenation project in Badami, the former CM said he is “afraid of anyone who wears a kumkum tika on their forehead”, questioning the capability of a person who puts vermillion.

“You are wearing that kumkum, will you do the work properly? I am scared of people who wear such kumkum. You have to do the work well and finish it on time, I don’t know… I have this fear about people who wear such long tikas on their forehead,” Siddaramaiah said.

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The event began with a priest performing a pooja during the inauguration and the Congress leader picked on a contractor who was present at there, pointed towards his forehead and made the irresponsible statement.

This isn’t the first time Siddaramaiah made controversial remarks in public. In January, the former chief minister of Karnataka was seen snatching the microphone away from a woman in a public gathering and with it, her dupatta (a long traditional scarf worn by South Asian women wear around their head and shoulders) was also pulled down.