Congress attacks Kumaraswamy over 'power theft'

Bengaluru, Nov 14: Karnataka's ruling Congress on Tuesday accused JD-S leader and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy of power theft, saying that his house was decorated with lights during Diwali via a direct connection from a high-tension wire.

The Congress said Kumaraswamy should not have stooped down to the level of committing power theft to decorate his house.

"Being a former CM, you should be ashamed to defend the case by claiming it as a petty matter. Likewise, you will defend the loot in future as well. You are trying to pass the buck by holding someone responsible.

"When you got electricity stealthily to decorate your house was there no power crisis in the state? You didn't get reminded on the drought situation in the state?" the Congress said on its social media accounts.

Kumaraswamy, who had attacked the Congress government over power crisis and drought situation in the state, said that he regrets what had happened and he would pay the prescribed amount of fine for the offence.

He also maintained that the private decorator had done the direct connection from the high tension wire without his knowledge and as soon as he came to know about it, he had got the direct connection removed.

Reacting to the attacks by the Congress, Kumaraswamy said that he had the capacity to "overcome it". "I have the morality to face the challenges. I am an open book. I can handle the overpowering attempts and allegations by Congress," he said. "I had not indulged in the loot to the level of Congress. They had created a fake housing society to loot. They can't silence me," he claimed.