Vijai Sardesai had expressed regret hours after the incident.
A day after a video in which a visibly irritated Goa Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai knocked a mobile phone from a government officer's hand went viral, the politician said on Tuesday that he is an "aggressive person" by nature and not quite an "English gentleman".
Speaking to reporters, Mr Sardesai also said that he had already expressed regret and added that he needed to control his patience and temper in the future.
A video showing Mr Sardesai knocking off a ringing mobile phone from the hands of Siddhivinayak Naik, chief officer of the Margao Municipal Council, during a field visit on Monday had gone viral.
"At that time I got irritated because of the ringing phone call. And I acted. I have expressed my regret... I know he is a good officer, he has done good revenue recovery. He knows my habit," the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of an office of the ruling Goa Forward party, which Vijai Sardesai heads.
"I am not an English gentleman like that. I am an aggressive person. Everybody knows that. This is not new," he added.
While the Congress had slammed Mr Sardesai of behaving in a "dictatorial manner", the Minister had expressed regret hours after the incident.
The officer said that the Minister's act of knocking away the phone was "accidental" and that much should not be read into the incident.