Siddaramaiah, KSE lock horns in ‘jest’ for a change

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and other BJP leaders paid Congress leader Siddaramaiah a visit at a city hospital where he underwent angioplasty.

The visit soon became a laugh riot when Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and Siddaramaiah, who otherwise engage in bitter political scuffles, locked horns in jest for a change.

“It’s now assured that you have a heart,” Eshwarappa said. To which Siddaramaiah responded, “You thought I didn’t?” The minister, defensive, said he had not said that openly. Siddaramaiah then quipped, “Well, I don’t know what or how you’ve learnt about the human anatomy.” The conversation left members in the room in splits, with Yediyurappa holding Siddaramaiah’s hands and laughing along.

Siddaramaiah, 71, said he will remain in the hospital for two more days. “I got a stent placed earlier. There was no problem all these years despite me being active. But then, one blood vessel had a block which was seen through an angiogram,” he said. He appealed to his followers not to worry about his health. “I am totally fine.”

AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal spoke with Siddaramaiah over phone and enquired about his health.