Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday lost his cool when a group of protestors approached him in Raichur district on Wednesday, reports said. “You vote for Narendra Modi and expect me to solve your problem,” he snapped at some protestors, according to a video.

Local television channels played a video, in which Kumaraswamy was seen leaning out of a bus window to talk to some protestors. “Should I respect you?,” he reportedly asked the protestors. “Do you need to be lathi-charged?” However, Kumaraswamy’s voice was not very clear in the videos.

Worker of the Yeramarus Thermal Power Plant and Hutti Gold Mines had stopped the state bus in which Kumaraswamy was travelling to Raichur village as part of his “village stay” programme. They complained to the chief minister about pending salaries. The protesters had gheraoed the chief minister for nearly 20 minutes and shouted slogans, reported The News Minute.

According to the protestors, 748 employees of the power plant have not received their salaries for the last 14 months. R Manasayya, a union leader, said that the chief minister had promised to meet them at Yeramarus bungalow. Later, the chief minister assured them that their problems would be taken care of within a week.

The protestors dispersed after the police arrived. The Chief Minister’s Office, however, described the incident as a small five-minute episode, reported NDTV.

The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Kumaraswamy’s outburst, and called it aggressive. “If you cannot listen to the people then who in Karnataka asked you to become the CM?” asked BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali. “Kannadigas anyways didn’t vote for you nor did they ask you to be the CM. Do the state a favour by stepping down. You are fit for nothing.”

BJP Karnataka General Secretary Ravikumar said Kumaraswamy behaved like a common man. “It is not good,” he told NDTV. “If you are not interested to continue as CM, better to give resignation and go back to your home.”