Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday denied that he said farmer Vittal Arabhavi had died of drinking.
“What Jagadish Shettar said about a farmer committing suicide after we came to power is true. But it was an accident. The government had nothing to do with it,” Siddaramaiah said here on Thursday.
Speaking during a campaign at Shikaripur, Siddaramaiah said, “It is true that the suicide incident of Vittal Arabhavi occurred during my reign. But why did the Yeddyurappa government kill two farmers in police firing?” Earlier, he told reporters at the helipad, “My remarks are being misinterpreted by Opposition parties. I did say that the farmer committed suicide by consuming alcohol.”
“Deve Gowda says he is the son of the soil, while Yeddyurappa calls himself a son of a farmer. Who are we? We are sons of our fathers and mothers,” said Siddaramaiah.