Shivakumar apologises for mother's remarks on CM

Energy Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday apologised for the controversial statements by his mother Gowramma, who blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the income tax raids on her son.

Gowramma had attacked Siddaramaiah saying “he repeatedly betrayed” Shivakumar, when reporters sought her comments on the I-T raids. Her statement raised eyebrows, because it came at a time when the entire Congress party was blaming the BJP for using the I-T department to target Shivakumar. “My aged mother is uneducated. She lacks enough knowledge to know under whose jurisdiction the Income Tax department falls. A section of the media took undue advantage of her innocence and incited her to speak against the chief minister,” Shivakumar said in a statement. “I apologise to the chief minister and people of the state for my mother’s unintentional comments.”

Besides blaming Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar’s mother, who was interviewed by TV channels at a farmhouse in Kodihalli, went on to say that her son had many enemies within the Congress party. Shivakumar’s brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh was quick to initiate damage control. “She was under pressure. She didn’t mean whatever she said,” Suresh had clarified.

Shivakumar went on to profusely praise Siddaramaiah. “He has stood by my side and encouraged me,” he stated, going on to thank Congress leaders, party workers and “all good-hearted people for supporting him and his family during the crisis.”