Tackle Opposition effectively, Siddu tells Congress legislators

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has been on the defensive over the watch controversy, on Wednesday called upon the Congress legislators to effectively counter the Opposition attack on the issue in the legislature.

Siddaramaiah, who chaired the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting at the Vidhana Soudha, gave a detailed clarification on the controversy and tried to convince them that he had not violated any law by accepting the expensive watch as a gift.

The chief minister raised the issue on his own and none of the legislators spoke anything against their leader in the meeting, sources in the party said.

Siddaramaiah reiterated what he had been saying all these days: That the watch was gifted by his NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Varma in July last year. It was a pre-owned watch bought by Varma in Dubai for an estimated Rs 14 lakh.

He also claimed that he had all the documents pertaining to the watch. The Opposition parties are making baseless charges in order to tarnish the government’s image, he said.

The chief minister informed the legislators that he had decided to declare the watch a government asset, following in the footsteps of former chief minister, the late Devaraj Urs. The watch will be on display at the Cabinet Hall on the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha, he said.

Reservation issue

The sources said many legislators took exception to Minister for Municipal Administration, Qamarul Islam, fixing reservation for the urban local bodies without consulting them. Siddaramaiah directed Islam to explore the possibility of changing the reservation roster without violating the rule book.

Many legislators stayed away from the CLP meeting as well as the dinner hosted by the chief minister on Tuesday, the sources said.