Bengaluru: Decency is a term that may not apply to politics at all. On Thursday (May 16), BJP MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru suggested to former chief minister Siddaramaiah to wear bangles if he is unable to control his cronies. And now, Umashri, senior Congress leader wonders if BJP leaders will wear sarees. 

Launching a tirade against the BJP, the Congress leader said, “We don’t seek votes by dividing a religion, we don’t seek votes based on the martyrdom of our soldiers, but the BJP does it. They even have a dictatorial attitude.” 

Next in the line of fire was senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa. She said, “When he talks, it is as if an elephant is walking while the dog keeps on barking.” 

On the other hand, chief minister’s political secretary Kona Reddy equalled Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy to be “jodettu” or “a pair of working oxen” when roughly translated into English. The term has its genesis in Mandya, where the chief minister compared himself with DK Shivakumar, another senior Congress leader, and termed themselves “jodettu” as against the actor-duo of Darshan and Yash, who had campaigned extensively for Sumalatha. 

Reddy further reiterated that the coalition government, under the leadership of Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah, would survive the full term of five years. 

However, even though he heaped praises on the two, Siddarmaiah was not reciprocating. While addressing the gathering, he failed to take the name of Kona Reddy in a fluent manner. As he fumbled to address Kona Reddy, he took the help of the people standing nearby, thus putting Kona Reddy in a state of embarrassment. 

Later, Siddaramaiah did not mince words in criticising BS Yeddyurappa, the state BJP president. Terming him as “sultan for three days”, the former CM said, “Yeddyurappa was not able to prove his majority. Now he should remain in the opposition and keep quiet.” 

Reacting to such strong usage of words, BJP spokesperson Sreenath Sheshadri said, “That shows Siddaramaiah’s level of dignity. Further it shows their desperation."