Reports of Cong MLA giving luxury car to Siddaramaiah surface

Amid political turbulence in Karnataka, Congress MLA Byrathi Suresh has courted a fresh controversy after media reports of former chief minister Siddaramaiah receiving a luxury car from him surfaced.

Denying the reports, Congress leader and minister D K Shivakumar said Siddaramaiah has not been gifted Mercedes-Benz car by Suresh, but it had been given for his travelling purposes.

"There is no gift or anything. We sometimes take our friends' vehicle to travel. There is no issue. Is there any record that he has received a gift or anything? Nothing, no record," he said.

In June last year, Siddaramaiah was in the eye of a controversy after the then minister K J George allegedly gifted him a Toyota Land Cruiser with fuel coupons for a year.

George, then, had deflected the charges by saying that he had lent the vehicle as Siddaramaiah was uncomfortable travelling long distances in an Innova.

Earlier in February 2016, Siddaramaiah had been mired in controversy over a Rs 70 lakh worth diamond-studded Hublot watch gifted to him.

He later handed over the watch to then Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa amid uproar in the assembly, declaring it a state asset. Both the opposition BJP and JD(S) members had staged a dharna in the well of the House.

Countering the allegations, Siddaramaiah had said that the pre-owned "HUBLOT BIG BANG-301-M" wrist watch was presented to him by his Dubai-based NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Varma as a personal gift.

Siddaramiah also said Varma had no official dealings with the government of Karnataka or its organisations.