‘Pat’ comes apology from cheeky Governor

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday apologised to a woman journalist whom he had patted on the cheek at the end of a press conference at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday when she asked him a question.

The journalist (not being named in view of the guidelines in such cases), working with an English weekly magazine, had objected to the Governor’s action in a tweet saying he had patronisingly patted her on her cheek “without consent”.

Following this various journalist bodies issued statements strongly condemning Purohit and one petition addressed to the Governor even warned that his action would constitute an offence under the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Act.

Leaders belonging to political parties, which have been opposing Governor Purohit for political reasons for many months now, also joined in to criticise his act. DMK leader M K Stalin and his step-sister Kanimozhi said whatever Purohit’s intentions were, he had no right to violate a woman’s privacy.

Amidst the uproar, the Governor wrote to the journalist contending that as an act of appreciation for the question posed by her, “I gave a pat on your cheek considering you to be like my granddaughter.” He added that it was done as a gesture of appreciation since he was also a member of the journalistic profession for about 40 years.

“I do understand from your mail that you are feeling hurt about the incident. I wish to express my regret and apologies to assuage your sentiments that have been hurt,” the Governor said.

The journalist later tweeted, “Your excellency I accept your apology even though I am not convinced about your contention that you did it to appreciate a question I had asked.”