Karnataka CM to make gifted luxury watch a ‘state asset’, pay gift tax

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the controversial watch was second hand and was gifted to him. He even said that he will pay gift tax on it and would declare it as a state asset.

The watch in question is believed to be a diamond studded Hublot watch purportedly worth Rs 70 lakh.

Hublot is a Swiss luxury watch brand. It was the official timekeeper for FIFA world cup 2014 and has ambassadors like Diego Maradona.

This comes after Karnataka state president of the BJP, Pralhad Joshi on Saturday wrote a letter to the Director Enforcement, Department of Revenues Govt of India to enquire into matters relating to the controversial watch.

The News Minute earlier this month had reported when the issue first came to light with former Karnataka CM and JD(S) head HD Kumaraswamy saying it was wrong on the part of Siddaramaiah to sport such luxurious accessories when farmers were dying in the state.

Even then, the CM had said that the watch was a gift, without mentioning who gifted it to him. He said that it was not worth so much and was ready to sell his watch and goggles for Rs.5 lakh.

There have been numerous reports on other branded watches that the CM had been seen using.

A Bangalore Mirror report said, “The photographs that our lensmen have been shooting bear out more than one Rolex, at least one Audemars Piguet, Tissot, Hermes shoes among others."

Former Lokayukta of the state Santosh Hegde had earlier told The News Minute, “Any government official or party leader should declare any gift worth above Rs 5,000. Siddaramaiah may also be charged for misconduct if he received gifts while he was in office. So this way, the matter may be problematic for him, he should declare details about the watch as soon as possible.”