NEW DELHI:
Tamil Nadu's governor apologised to a
woman journalist for patronisingly patting her on the cheek recently, but after the apology, the scribe says she's "not convinced" of the reason he cited.
"Your Excellency, I have with me your letter expressing regret at what happened at the press conference in Chennai the previous day. I accept your apology, even though I am not convinced about your contention that you did it to appreciate a question I asked," wrote the journalist
Lakshmi Subramanian on Twitter.
Earlier today,
Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit offered his regret and apologies to Subramanian. This, a day after she expressed extreme annoyance that he patted her on the cheek during a press conference where the governor took questions about sexual misconduct.
Purohit said today the pat on cheek was done with "affection" and to express his "appreciation" for her performance as a journalist.
"I considered (your) question to be a good one. Therefore, as an act of appreciation for the question that you had posed, I gave a pat on your cheek considering you to be like my granddaughter," he wrote. Mr Purohit added that it was "done with affection and to express appreciation for your performance as a journalist, since I was also a member of that profession for about 40 years."
As Subramanian said today and indicated on Twitter yesterday, that explanation doesn't wash with her.
A pat on the cheek "moments after he dismissed a barrage of questions about allegations of sexual misconduct against himself. Unprofessional behaviour - and completely uncalled for to touch a stranger without her consent, especially a woman", tweeted Subramanian yesterday.
On Tuesday, the Raj Bhavan convened a rare press conference in the backdrop of a purported telephonic conversation Nirmala Devi -- an assistant professor in an Aruppukottai college -- had with her four girl students in which she mentioned the governor. The audio tape went viral on social media after the girls had complained to the authorities that the assistant professor was trying to lure them to offer sexual favours to "higher-ups."
