Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wears a Rs 70 lakh watch?

BENGALURU: When it comes to public engagements, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is not a good timekeeper, given his hectic schedule. However, it’s not the CM, but his timekeeper that has been in the news for the past few days.

The watch Siddaramaiah sports has become the talk of the town after JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy took a jibe at his socialist credentials, saying the timepiece costs Rs 70 lakh.

In the early 1980s, a Rolex owned by Chand Mahal Ibrahim, deputy chairman of the state planning board, became an issue on the floor of the House. As a minister in the R Gundu Rao cabinet, he was gifted a Rolex by a UAE minister.

Its value exceeded the price limit permitted under the FCRA, prompting fomer MLC AK Subbaiah to raise the issue. While Kumaraswamy has turned down Siddaramaiah’s offer to buy his watch saying “he is not a scrap dealer”, the timepiece continues to generate a debate.