DVS, Siddu animate Twitter with their spat

Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah engaged in a heated verbal duel on Twitter, which stemmed from the latter accusing the saffron party of offering money to legislators to defect.

In a tweet, Siddaramaiah caustically asked what the BJP had done as the Opposition party besides trying to dislodge the Congress-JD(S) coalition. “The BJP has resorted to horse trading by trying to purchase legislators by offering them Rs 25-30 crore. If they weren’t corrupt, where will such huge money come from?”

To this, Gowda responded thus: “This is a new farce to cover-up the weaknesses in your party. You’re running a liability government and Kannadigas aren’t fools to believe your words.”

To this, Siddaramaiah quipped that Gowda had “run away from the CM’s post after 11 months.”

In a series of tweets later, Gowda pointed out that the Congress was reduced to 78 seats in the recent Assembly polls and that Siddaramaiah lost from Chamundeshwari while barely managing a victory in Badami.

“Kumaraswamy is the CM thanks to your high command, not you. Watch your own back before hurling accusations at others. Enquire about what happened to the crop loan waiver. Also, it looks like you’ve been made the opposition leader within the ruling party.”

Siddaramaiah continued by posing some questions to Gowda: “Why were you removed as CM after 11 months? Why were you removed as Railways minister and as Law minister after holding these portfolios for just one year? Why did you shift to Bengaluru outside of your native Puttur and Udupi-Chikmagalur?”

News channels aired a video Monday in which Food and Civil Supplies Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan is heard telling Siddaramaiah that BJP national president Amit Shah rang up Bidar legislator Rahim Khan asking him to jump ship in exchange for money.

The video is dated December 21, a day before the Cabinet was expanded. Rahim Khan has been made minister for youth empowerment and sports.