Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday February 25,2016 that the
expensive Hublot watch he wore was gifted to him by an old friend — a
Dubai-based cardiac surgeon, Dr Girish
Chandra Varma. Reacting to the
Opposition’s claims that the watch was worth Rs 70 lakh, he said it
costs nearly Rs 7 lakh and added that its ownership will be a part of
his asset and income declarations this year before the Karnataka
Lokayukta and the Income Tax Department. He said that he would declare
it a state asset and deposit it with the state secretariat.
Siddaramaiah said that during his visit to Bangalore in July 2015, Dr
Varma, who he claimed to have known since 1983, had removed the Hublot
he was wearing and gifted it to Siddaramaiah.
It is essentially a “second-hand watch” and the original would be
worth around 35,000 dirhams in Dubai, he said, adding that documents
regarding its purchase will be provided to authorities during
declaration of assets. An affidavit regarding the watch’s origin will
also be provided soon to the Lokayukta, he said
Siddaramaiah hands over luxury watch to Speaker Wednesday March 02,2016
In a frantic effort to scupper moves by BJP leaders to raise the
controversial issue of his luxe wristwatch in Parliament, Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah handed over his diamond-studded Hublot watch to Speaker
Kagodu Thimmappa in the Legislative Assembly and declared it a state
asset on Wednesday March 02,2016
With Opposition legislators digging their heels in for the second
consecutive day on their demand for a discussion on the gift received by
the Chief Minister from a Dubai-based doctor, Siddaramaiah passed on
the wristwatch and his letter declaring it a state asset to Thimmappa who subsequently handed them over to chief secretary, Arvind Jadhav.
The watch would henceforth be displayed in the cabinet
hall
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