The emperor's accessories: flashy "gifts" land Siddaramaiah in trouble

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The accessories

• HD Kumaraswamy has criticised Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for wearing costly accessories

• He allegedly has 6 watches, each worth Rs 10-70 lakh, Mont Blanc spectacles and Luis Vitton and Hermes shoes

• Kumaraswamy\'s son has a penchant for fancy cars

More in the story

• What is Siddaramaiah\'s response?

• Are these gifts?

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's gold-rimmed spectacles and diamond-studded watches have come under a hawkish watch.

In the heat of the zila panchayat and taluk panchayat election campaign currently underway, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy stirred up a hornet's nest by questioning 'Socialist' Siddaramiah's penchant for wearing costly accessories, along with crisp white shirt and dhoti.

Kumaraswamy claimed that a diamond crested watch, among different watches that Siddaramiah flaunted, was worth "at least Rs 50 lakh" and the flashy spectacles "not less than Rs 2 lakh."

"How did a poor farmer's son acquire them?" he asked.

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Initially, Siddaramaiah tried to ignore the jibe. But when the BJP jumped into the bandwagon asking why Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was keeping silent on his party chief minister's "show of vulgar wealth" after criticising Narendra Modi's Rs 10 lakh suit, it got Siddaramaiah's goat.

"Gifts" says the CM

On the campaign trail, Siddaramaiah flashed his watch before television cameras and offered it to Kumaraswamy "for Rs 10 lakh" and the spectacles "for Rs 50,000". He also claimed that he had received a couple of watches as 'gifts' and did not know their value.

Kumaraswamy rejected the offer saying he was not a "scrap dealer" and asked the chief minister to specify the names of the gift-givers and whether they are in return for any favours he had extended.

Meanwhile, a local daily which had been tracking Siddaramiah's fashion accessories, came up with an investigation that the chief minister possessed at least 3 Rolex watches, 1 Hublot, 1 Audemars Piguet and 1 Tissot watch (each worth Rs 10 lakh to Rs 70 lakh). Some of his other other accessories included Mont Blanc spectacles and shoes belonging to Louis Vuitton and Hermes, to go with his trade mark white lungi, silk shirt and a cotton or silk shawl on one shoulder.

According to a news report, Siddaramaiah has at least 6 watches, priced between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 70 lakh

This has raised questions about the identity of the gift-givers, whether the chief minister received them in his personal capacity or as chief minister and whether there was a quid pro quo, inviting criminal charges.

Though there is no state law prohibiting people's representatives from accepting gifts, there are clear-cut rules framed under the Union home ministry's code of conduct which applies to all ministers, be it central or from the states.

Section 4.1(a) of the conduct of code reads: "A minister should not accept any valuable gifts except from close relatives, and he (she) or members of his (her) family shall not accept any gifts from any person with whom the minister may have official dealing(s)." It however allows them to accept gifts during foreign tours or from overseas delegations, "but their worth should not be above Rs 5,000."

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The rule says that expensive gifts should be retained by the government, but there have been a number of instances of Presidents, prime ministers and chief ministers violating it.

Siddaramaiah not the only one

As the debate was getting uglier, Siddaramaiah tried to turn the tables on Kumaraswamy by saying those sitting in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at the others.

A silver version of the same watch.

"Kumaraswamy imported a Lamborghini for his son Nikhil worth over Rs 5 crore and he is also spending several crores on a film to launch his son's career. Where did all this money come from?" he asked.

A sheepish Kumaraswamy claimed that Nikhil had bought the car (and Nikhil has 4 more expensive imported cars) from his company's "resources" and as far as the film was concerned, he had documents to show that he had raised loans to finance it.

Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil has a Rs 5 crore lamborghini and 4 other expensive cars

Luckily for the chief minister, a stalemate over the appointment of Lokayukta to replace Justice N Bhaskar Rao who was forced to resign, may have saved him some immediate blushes as the office of Lokayukta has almost become defunct.

But one Ramamurthy Gowda has filed a police complaint asking who gifted the diamond-studded watch to Siddaramaiah and whether it was in return for any favour. Gowda has also attached a copy of the assets and liabilities statement of the chief minister as on 31 March 2015 filed with the Lokayukta which makes no mention of the gifts received. An FIR is yet to be registered.

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Siddaramaiah is not the first politician from Karnataka to get embroiled in a 'gift controversy.' The chief minister's close associate and currently, deputy chairman of the state planning board, CM Ibrahim's political career nearly ended three decades ago when, as a minister in R Gundu Rao's cabinet, he flaunted a Rolex watch given by an Arab sheik claiming that it acted as an "open visa" to any Middle East country he wanted to visit.

Political observers believe that if the Congress does poorly in the 3 Assembly by-elections and the zila and taluk panchayat elections, Siddaramaiah and his coterie could be in serious trouble.