Chennai, April 18: After a video of Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit patting a woman journalist kicked a storm, the governor on Thursday issued a statement saying that he patted her as an act of appreciation. The 78-year old Purohit said that the journalist asked very good questions, and considering her as his grand-daughter he patted her cheek.

To recall, Purohit courted controversy on Tuesday when he diplomatically patted a woman journalist, apparently to parry a question, with the DMK terming the incident as "unbecoming" of a person holding a Constitutional post.

DMK Working President MK Stalin said on his Twitter handle and said, "It is not only unfortunate but unbecoming of a person holding a constitutional post".

The incident took place when the 78-year-old Governor was about to leave the venue of the crowded press conference at the Raj Bhavan, which was all set to conclude. As per reports by PTI, the woman journalist, working with a leading English magazine said in her tweet, "I asked TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit a question as his press conference was ending. He decided to patronisingly and without consent pat me on the cheek as a reply (sic)."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2018 01:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).