Bengaluru: The controversy over Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's "gift" watch refuses to die down.
After an embarrassed Siddaramaiah declared he would deposit the expensive Hublot watch with the state treasury and pay customs duty on it, his rival and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy came out alleging it was not gifted by a Dubai-based surgeon, Dr. Girish Chandra Varma, as claimed by Siddaramaiah.
Two days ago Siddaramaiah had claimed it was given to him in July 2015 by old friend Dr.Varma. The doctor also subsequently confirmed that he gifted that expensive Hublot watch to him.
Kumaraswamy now alleges that an NRI doctor called Sudhakar Shetty who lives on Rest House Road in Bengaluru had complained to city police that three of his very expensive watches including a Hublot had been stolen in April 2015.
He also added that the police did not bother to pursue the case and that recently Shetty had called him up and complained about the police inaction.
Kumaraswamy hinted that a police officer "gifted" a "stolen" watch to the Chief Minister. He alleged the police were misusing recovered stolen goods to please their political masters and demanded a thorough inquiry into the watch episode.
In the meantime, complainant Dr. Sudhakar Shetty clarified that the watch which is with Siddaramaiah is not his watch. But, he alleged that the police were going slow and doing nothing to recover his watches.
Speaking to IBNLIVE Siddaramaiah said "I have explained everything to the media. It is a gift from a Dubai-based friend. It is not a stolen watch. Kumaraswamy is a liar. His words carry no credibility. You better ignore him".
Siddaramaiah who came to New Delhi on Friday, met the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and defended his decision to receive the gift from a friend.
The " gift" watch issue is likely to rock the budget session of the Karnataka Assembly in March.
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