Bengaluru: Politics was quietly forgotten as Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, his predecessor, Siddaramaiah and Opposition leader in the Assembly B.S. Yeddyurappa, who are at each other’s throat on almost every issue, came together on Thursday to have an ‘apolitical’ lunch hosted by none other than Mr Kumaraswamy himself.
The Chief Minister arranged the lunch perhaps realising that it was a crucial day for him because he had to reply to the debate on the budget as finance minister. Mr Kumaraswamy stood at the Banquet Hall entrance to welcome Mr Siddaramaiah and when the former chief minister arrived, held his hand and took him to the first table. Both sat together and started relishing the start-ups. When the CM saw B.S. Yeddyurappa entering the hall, he stopped eating and went to receive him.
Finally, Mr Kumaraswamy, Mr Siddaramaiah, Mr Yeddyurappa, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwar and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar had lunch together.
Soon after the lunch, they all returned to the assembly hall on the first floor of Vidhana Soudha where Mr Kumaraswamy and Mr Yeddyurappa resumed their verbal duel over the budget reply!
