Nagaraj blames Suresh for death of Siddaramaiah's son

Byrathi Suresh

Disqualified Congress MLA M T B Nagaraj on Sunday raked up a controversy by blaming Hebbal Congress legislator Byrathi Suresh for the death of Siddaramaiah’s son Rakesh Siddaramaiah.

Nagaraj said the former chief minister’s son could have lived for 50 more years if not for Byrathi Suresh. Nagaraj alleged that Suresh had encouraged the bad habits of Rakesh, which eventually led to his death while he was travelling in Europe.

Rakesh, Siddaramaiah’s eldest son, died in Belgium in July 2016 after a multi-organ failure. He was 39.

Byrathi Suresh hit back, saying Nagaraj’s remarks showed his desperation as he feared losing his deposit if he contested bypolls from Hoskote. “Rakesh was like a brother to me," he said.

He also lashed out at Siddaramaiah after the Congress organised a rally in Hosakote in preparation for the October bypolls. “I had contested for the Congress even before Siddaramaiah joined the party,” he said in response to Siddaramaiah’s remarks that he had made Nagaraj a minister.