As BJP came down heavily on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday after a video of him traveling in a private jet, the Karnataka CM in response slammed BJP and said they should be asked how Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels.
Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said, "Ask the BJP how PM Modi travels. Ask BJP members which aircraft Narendra Modi uses for travel, he travels alone in those aircraft."
"Why does he travel alone? Direct this question to them," Siddaramaiah said.
About the 'private jet' row
The row over Karnataka CM Siddaramaih riding a luxury jet erupted after BJP's IT Cell chief Amit Malviya took to X and slammed the Congress party over its crowdfunding campaign.
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Taing it to X, Malviya said Siddaramaiah and and his cabinet colleague BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan had 'happy moments' traveling together to Delhi, to seek funds for drought relief.
The video also included Housing Minister Khan and Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, among others.
Political reactions: Who said what
In a bid to downplay the issue, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said "private jet rides are normal for chief ministers".
"The BJP is unable to digest Congress’s progress. Private jet rides are normal for chief ministers for official work and there is nothing wrong with it," he said.
Taking a dig at the Karnataka CM, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said "The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka tells his MLAs and people that there is no money left for development because all the money has been splurged on the so-called promises made by the Congress party which they are unable to fulfill."
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"We see the ministers of the Karnataka government doing photo shoots and splurging in VVIP planes and jet planes at the cost of taxpayer money along with the Chief Minister asking for funds for drought relief. Congress's mindset is to use any state it gets power in as an ATM. They did that in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Now it has turned to Karnataka and Telangana," the BJP leader said.
"Congress asks for donations and then uses jets," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
