Siddaramaiah turns tables on Kumaraswamy

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit back at JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on the issue of his expensive wristwatch by seeking to know who paid for the imported car owned by the JD(S) leader’s son Nikhil  Gowda.

Replying to a question by reporters on Kumaraswamy's charges, Siddaramaiah said, “Kumaraswamy's son has an imported car. Who paid the money for it (car)? Did he (Nikhil Gowda) earn it? Then who bought him the car? Moreover, Kumaraswamy is spending crores on his son's movie. From where does he get all the money?” he retorted.  He was speaking to reporters after garlanding the statue of Kengal Hanumanthaiah on the latter’s birth anniversary at Vidhana Soudha.

The JD(S) leader had claimed that Siddaramaiah has a diamond-studded watch worth Rs 50 to 60 lakhs. He also claimed that Siddaramaiah uses an expensive sunglasses costing Rs 1.5 lakh and questioned his credentials as a follower of socialist icon Ram Manohar Lohia.

Siddaramaiah, further, said there were many such charges against Kumara-swamy. “One should not throw stones at others when one is sitting in a glasshouse,” he stated adding that the watch was gifted to him by somebody. The chief minister also reiterated that he was ready to sell both his watch and sunglasses for Rs 5 lakh if Kumaraswamy is ready to buy them.

On the BJP leaders taking exception at the chief minister for not meeting the parents of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad at his native village during his recent visit to Hubballi, Siddaramaiah said the BJP has nothing worthwhile to do. The BJP leaders are known for making irresponsible charges. “I wanted to go during my visit to north Karnataka. But his (Koppad) parents had already left for Delhi. The BJP has nothing worthwhile to do and so they make irresponsible charges,” he added.