BENGALURU: The row over CM Siddaramaiah’s luxe watch has landed at the doors of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with state BJP president Pralhad Joshi lodging a complaint with authorities of ED on Saturday.
In the complaint, Mr. Joshi demanded a thorough investigation about how the watch reportedly worth '70 lakh landed in the hands of Mr Siddaramaiah.
“It is honestly felt that this case needs to be thoroughly investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and unveil the truth in the interest of people’s right to know the truth and more so to instill confidence and faith in the administration and enforcement of laws”.
The leader said the investigation ought to identify the original owner of this watch, whether this person paid the customs duty, and if so whether that person declared this fact to the authorities concerned.
Besides, officers of ED should probe any violation of foreign exchange regulations, he added. The complaint stated that Mr Siddaramaiah was not clear about whether the watch has gifted to him by his friend.
Ugrappa: HDK is no saint, has high-end cars, watches
Going on the offensive against state JD(S) chief H.D. Kumaraswamy, who has whipped up a controversy over CM Siddaramaiah’s expensive wristwatch, Congress leaders came out with photographs of their own on Saturday showing Mr Kumaraswamy wearing expensive watches when he was CM in 2006.
Saying he was no 'Satya Harishchandra,' senior Congress leader and MLC, V S Ugrappa claimed the JD(S) leader and his family had a number of high-end imported cars and costly wrist watches worth crores of rupees.
Hitting back hard at the JDS leader , Mr Ugrappa and six other Congress legislators alleged that he and his family possessed over 50 expensive watches, each costing over '25 lakh.
The JDS leader had received expensive watches and imported cars worth crores when he was CM and even presented a Lamborghini worth '8 crore to his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy not too long ago, they charged.
‘They can’t silence me’
Keeping the pressure on, state JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy announced on Saturday that he would shortly release documents on the expensive wristwatch Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was supposedly gifted by a friend.
Reacting to Congress legislators’ charges against him and his family, he invited them to search his house for the expensive watches they claimed had been gifted to him when he was Chief Minister.
Calling Congress leader, Ugrappa the CM’s mouthpiece, he said, “They cannot shut me up by making such baseless charges against me and my family.”
