BENGALURU: So what if Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wears a fancy Hublot watch? JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy flaunts dozens of luxe chronographs, and his family drives around in swanky cars gifted by shadowy benefactors, Congress leaders alleged on Saturday. It was also a day when state BJP president Prahlad Joshi wrote a letter to the ED chief demanding an investigation into the source of the the CM’s watch.
V S Ugrappa, H M Revanna, Byrathi Basavaraj, Ivan D’Souza, S T Somashekar, M T B Nagaraj, Ashok Pattan, Abdul Jabbar and Narayan Swamy jointly held a press conference on Saturday to release pictures of Kumaraswamy wearing watches of various makes. The leaders then announced the price of each.
Of late, Kumaraswamy has been criticising Siddaramaiah for sporting expensive accessories. “If you make accusations, you should have proof,” MLC Revanna said. Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil are no saints: they own watches worth lakhs and cars worth crores, he alleged.
Ramya Furore
Referring to Kumaraswamy’s remarks that movie star Ramya’s entry into politics had led to hundreds of farmers committing suicide, Revanna said, “Let him stop talking about her and start talking about his own wealth.”
Congress MLC V Ugrappa said it was strange Kumaraswamy was urging Siddaramaiah to auction his watch and fill the state’s coffers. “Has Kumaraswamy auctioned his watches and filled the state coffers?” Ugrappa said. Ugrappa said Kumaraswamy had not registered two of his four cars. “In 2006, how many times did he travel abroad? What about the gifts he received in Dubai? He owns a watch worth Rs 1.3 crore. He was also gifted a car worth Rs 6 crore. He owns at least 50 watches priced between Rs 25,000 to crore,” he alleged.
Ugrappa taunted Kumaraswamy’s family, saying it had been busy covering up its cars from Friday.
Home Minister G Parameshwara said, “We are a conscientious party. We do not have to worry about any damage this issue will cause us. There was no need to make this a national issue.”
Elsewhere, Kumaraswamy retorted, “Why should I stoop to their level and answer their allegations? He (Ugrappa) is Siddaramaiah’s mouthpiece.”
Kumaraswamy said he had always been open about all deals. He promised to hold a press meet in a couple of days and provide documents to prove his allegations. “I am not able to speak properly as I have a throat infection. In two or three days, I will be able to speak properly and I will then release all documents,” he said.
Asked about his son’s cars, Kumaraswamy retorted, “My son is not a public servant. He can buy any car he wishes for Rs 5, 10 or 50 crore. Let them direct their allegations at me, I will answer then. Have we questioned Siddaramaiah’s son?” he asked. Kumaraswamy also invited the Congress leaders to visit his house. “Let them take a look at what I have. I will keep my wardrobe open,” he said.