Karnataka: Warming up for 2018? Congress, BJP in word war

Bengaluru: The rivalry between the Congress and BJP, which are  eyeing the popular vote with elections looming,  spilled over into the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday as  Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave his reply to the debate on demands.

While other  Congress and BJP leaders got into arguments frequently as they claimed credit for various schemes, Mr Siddaramaiah himself was unusually calm throughout and seemed in good humour as he dwelt on the " robust" Karnataka economy.

But when he claimed that  his government had taken the initiative to get the farmers a good market price for their produce, Mr Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP shot back that it was  the initiative of the previous BJP government in the state and the Congress had merely packaged it well to present  before the country.

As  heated arguments followed, BJP members constantly intervened every time Mr Siddaramaiah tried to take credit for anything, whether it was for Basavanna's photographs in government offices or the Kempe Gowda Jayanthi celebration.

A calm CM lost his temper only when BJP members goaded him on remarks made against him by veteran Congress leader, A H Vishwanath. Dismissing the comments as mere blabbering of someone, who was leaving the party, he reminded them about their party chief, B.S. Yeddyurappa's comments on the BJP when he left it to form the KJP.

Not to be outdone, leader of the opposition, Jagadish Shettar shot back, asking Mr Siddaramaiah whether he remembered his remarks against the late Prime Minster, Indira Gandhi and present Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, when he was in the Janata parivar.