Congress accuses Kumaraswamy of power theft for Diwali lighting, he responds

mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, Nov 14, 2023: A fresh war of words erupted between friends-turned-foes Congress and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday after the grand old party accused him of “stealing electricity” by hooking up the Diwali illuminations at his Bengaluru home to a nearby power line.

 

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Karnataka Congress shared a video which purportedly shows a cable, stretching out from the terrace of Kumaraswamy’s JP Nagar residence, and connected to a power line across the street.

“It is a tragedy that a former Chief Minister has resorted to power theft! Didn’t you hold a press conference and say ‘Karnataka is in the dark’, but now you have lit your house with stolen electricity? When your house is shining like this, why do you say that Karnataka is in the dark?” the Congress said.

Responding to the Congress party’s allegations, Kumaraswamy admitted that a private decorator had tested the lighting arrangement at his house by connecting it to a nearby power line. “I realised this when I returned home and immediately removed it and ensured that power was drawn from the house connection,” he said and apologised.

The former Karnataka Chief Minister said he was open to an investigation by power authorities into the matter and would willingly pay a fine if served notice.

Firing back at Kumaraswamy, Congress said that as a former Chief Minister, he should be “ashamed” for “trivialising” the matter of power theft.

Courtesy: India Today