In the wake of criticism of his action of patting a woman journalist’s cheek after she posed a query at a recent press conference, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has said it was an “act of appreciation
In a signed letter addressed to Lakshmi Subramanian of The Week, Mr. Purohit says: “I have received your email dated 18.04.2018. You had asked a question when we had got up and were proceeding to leave after the close of the press conference. I consider that 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. It was done with affection and to express my appreciation for your performance as a journalist, since I was also a member of that profession for about 40 years. I do understand from your mail that you’re feeling hurt about the incident. I wish to express my regret and my apologies to assauge your sentiments that have been hurt. I suppose you will respond through a mail of acknowledgement.”
Ms. Subramanian accepted the apology in a tweet, but said she was not “convinced about your contention that you did it appreciate a question I asked.”
