Former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) head HD Kumaraswamy has turned detective - and his target is Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He has in fact put together a “detective squad” which went all the way to Dubai to solve one important mystery - what is the price of the diamond-studded watch that adorns Siddharamaiah’s hand?
The watch on CM’s hand was caught on camera, when he met ex-minister Adagooru Huchegowda Vishwanath in the hospital in Mysuru last week.
On Tuesday, JD(S) leaders released two videos- one from a Dubai watch showroom and second one of Siddaramaiah wearing the watch.
According to a sales person from Dubai who features in the video, it’s a Hublot watch that costs a whopping Rs. 70 lakh. He can also be heard saying that it is indeed diamond studded.
Hublot is a Swiss luxury watch brand, it was the official timekeeper for FIFA world cup 2014 and has ambassadors like Diego Maradona.
Kumaraswamy told The News Minute that ‘someone’ also told him that the CM’s goggles are also of a luxury brand which cost a minimum of Rs 50,000.
The verbal spat started about two weeks ago, when Kumaraswamy at an election rally, said, “If Siddaramaiah calls himself a socialist and a follower of freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia, why is he wearing such an expensive watch? I don’t care if he wears even Rs.2 crore worth watch but I don’t want him to mislead people saying he is a socialist.”
So what if the CM wears a luxury brand watch we asked Kumaraswamy. “When farmers are dying in the state, isn’t it wrong to sport such luxurious accessories? His attitude and his claims don’t tally.”
Siddaramaiah refuted his ex-colleague’s allegations and he 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.
Asked whether he was offended when Siddaramaiah pointed out that a Rs.5 crore worth car had been gifted to his son Nikhil Gowda, Kumaraswamy said, “My son is in charge of Kasturi TV channel. He can take care of himself. I have not bought stuff for myself even.”
However, Dinesh Amin Mattu, CM’s media advisor said, “Kumarswamy’s justification that his son is independent and is in-charge of Kasturi does not answer how he managed to get such a costly car, because the TV channel is so cash strapped that they don’t have enough money to pay their journalists.”
“I don’t know whether the watch really costs so much, but in any case, if it does then it only makes sense for CM to show it in his income tax returns this year,” he said.
One must recall, Siddaramaiah was recently in news after he bought water-proof saree worth Rs 1.2 lakh for his wife.
Many JD(S) leaders admire Siddaramaiah from his days in the party itself and that is not going too well with Kumaraswamy, Mattu claimed. (Siddaramaiah had left the JD(S) to join the Congress in 2005.)
“Muslim leaders in JD(S), like Gangavathi MLA Iqbal Ansari, are now supporting Congress. May be he is feeling isolated and that is what is pushing him to raise these non-issues,” Mattu said.