Novel coronavirus lockdown: Karnataka Minister Sudhakar lands in soup over swimming pool pic

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar called for Sudhakar to step down

The Congress party on Monday demanded the resignation of Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar for tweeting a picture of himself swimming with his children in a pool.

In the tweet, which has since been deleted, Sudhakar said: “After a long time joined my children for swimming hope maintaining social distance here also..haha.(sic)”

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In response to this, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar has called for Sudhakar to step down. “When the whole world is going through a health crisis, the corona in-charge minister Dr Sudhakar is behaving irresponsibly by spending time in a swimming pool,” said Shivakumar in a tweet that included a screenshot of Sudhakar’s now-deleted tweet. “It's a matter of moral & ethical standard. He must resign out of his own accord & CM should sack him from the Cabinet.”

In a subsequent statement that Shivakumar issued, he said that he was aghast that Sudhakar, being a doctor, posted a picture of his personal life during the crisis. “Not just those from my party, BJP leaders themselves called me to ask why I have not demanded Sudhakar’s resignation yet,” he said. “Still, I will not press for his resignation. Even the CM or Governor should not sack him. According to me, Sudhakar himself will take moral responsibility and step down.”

According to sources, a Congress delegation is expected to meet Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and seek Sudhakar’s sacking on the grounds that he violated the lockdown.

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In response to Sudhakar’s tweet, activist Leo F Saldanha said that the minister’s children deserved all the time that they could get with him. “But you need to ask yourself, as Minister of Medical Education, if it is right for you to claim a swimming pool provides ‘social distancing’? A quick check would have revealed swimming pools spread infections quite a bit,” he said.

Sudhakar hit back strongly at the Congress on this matter. “As a father, I was attending to my kids after three months of rigorous work to contain the Covid-19. Am I not supposed to discharge duties as a father to my children?” he told DH.

“I have not gone outside on picnic or tour. But stayed at home and joined them in their kids' pool inside the house. Before meeting them, I had quarantined myself and only after the successful completion of quarantine that I spent a few hours with my children which I could not do since February as I was busy attending to all Covid-19 related emergencies,” he said, daring the Opposition to point out flaws in his work instead.