Kumaraswamy has lost his mental balance, says Shivakumar

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The back and forth between JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar took an ugly turn as the former accused the latter of screening pornographic movies in the past.

Responding to mediapersons’ questions at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru on Sunday, he said: “I used to run touring talkies named after Indira Gandhi. Not just one, but I had three or four movie tents at Dodda Alahalli, Harobele and Kodihalli. In fact, the tent at Hunesahalli is running even today. The media can go to that theatre and check for themselves what kind of movies are being screened there.”

“He is a big man. Let him cast aspersions. He refers to me in the singular. Perhaps that is his culture but I won’t do that. I respect the position he held (former CM),” Shivakumar said of Kumaraswamy’s frequent attacks on him.

Shivakumar emerged as a mass Vokkaliga leader in May’s Assembly election as Congress finished as the single largest in the Old Mysuru region, where the community is concentrated.

Kumaraswamy, also a Vokkaliga, is wary of Shivakumar’s popularity as the JD(S) depends on the community’s support for electoral success.