CM’s ‘coastal bias’ lands him in spot

Bengaluru: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's statement targeting coastal voters has attracted a negative reaction from netizens forcing the chief minister to issue a clarification on Wednesday.

While talking to reporters at Sringeri on Tuesday, Mr Kumaraswamy reportedly said that for developmental works, people of  coastal Karnataka would come to him or PWD Minister, H.D. Revanna and remarked that they coastal people would not accept the reality. This statement of Mr Kumaraswamy went viral as it was interpreted as an insult to the people of coastal Karnataka. Social media, Twitter was abuzz with messages claiming that Mr Kumaraswamy had said that people of coastal Karnataka were dumb.

On Wednesday, realising that his statement had become a  controversy, Mr Kumaraswamy who was in Mysuru issued a statement and tweeted too, clarifying his position. He attributed the campaign to the BJP and its IT cell and said, "No one can beat the BJP and its IT cell in lying and spreading lies. They have proven this once again. I never said people of coastal Karnataka are dumb. They are role models in fact in education and in their intellectual strength. The BJP is trying to misleading the public," he said.