Hubolt watch row settled, no use flogging a dead horse: Siddaramaiah

Mysuru: "I don't understand why people keep discussing the Hublot watch row which has been settled. The issue was probed and I had promptly returned the watch to the State government," said Opposition Leader in the State Legislative Assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah. Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday,he said, "The watch was gifted to me by my Dubai-based NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Verma and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy is trying to add colour to it. There is nothing hanky-panky about it as complained by Kumaraswamy."

It may be recalled that in February 2016, Siddaramaiah had found himself in a tight spot over a Rs 70-lakh worth diamond-studded Hublot watch gifted to him.He later handed over the watch to then Speaker KagoduThimmappa amid uproar in the Assembly, declaring it a State asset.Countering the allegations of Opposition, Siddaramaiah had said that the pre-owned "HUBLOT BIG BANG-301-M" wristwatch was presented to him by Varma as a personal gift.

Siddaramiah had also said Varma had no official dealings with the government of Karnataka or its organisations. To another question pertaining to the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam, he was of the opinion that there should be a judicial inquiry to unravel the mystery. "The Additional Director General of Police is accused of corruption. When that is the case, how can we expect a fair and impartial proper by CID? A Karnataka High Court judge should investigate the issue." "Ministers have been accused of corrupt practices. Only middlemen have been arrested so far. Minister for Higher Education Dr C N Ashwath Narayan's men are also under the scanner. There is no proper investigation. Judicial probe alone can fix the guilty." He slammed CID for issuing a notice to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge, for his statement on the scam.