Karnataka: Actress Sumalatha's fast poll entry after Ambareesh's death irks Revanna

Bengaluru: Public Works Minister, H D Revanna was widely panned across parties on Friday for being critical of Sumalatha Ambareesh for deciding to enter politics just six months after the death of her husband, the late actor/politician, M H Ambareesh.

Clearly rattled by her adamancy on contesting from Mandya these Lok Sabha polls when the JD(S) is hoping to make it a launch-pad for Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil, he observed caustically, "She (Sumalatha) entered politics just six months after her husband passed away."

His comment set off a spate of reactions with many demanding he apologise to Ms Sumalatha. But despite being trolled on social media, Mr Revanna refused to apologise, saying, "I have only pointed out what is required by Hindu tradition. Being an actress, she knows how to shed tears when wanted. I didn't mean to hurt her in anyway."

The minister contended that Mr Kumaraswamy had been forced to field his son from Mandya after she decided to contest. "Otherwise our party would have fielded an ordinary worker," he claimed. Mr Revanna, added, "when her husband died, Kumaraswamy was there at the hospital till 3 am. I know who are behind this ongoing "Go back Kumaraswamy" online campaign and I will expose them."

Strongly reacting to him, Ms Sumalatha said "this shows his culture, I don't want to stoop to his level. It is unfortunate that such a comment has been made on International women's day. I am not interested in courting controversy, I will leave everything to my voters."