Bengaluru: The political spat between Union minister H D Kumaraswamy and Karnataka minister N Cheluvarayaswamy over the alleged KPSC scam intensified on Thursday, with Cheluvarayaswamy challenging the JD(S) leader to a face-to-face debate.
Speaking to reporters, Cheluvarayaswamy said Kumaraswamy could choose any room in Vidhana Soudha, including Room 313 or 334, for a direct discussion in the presence of the media.
“If he has the courage, let him come. I am ready for a face-to-face debate before the media,” Cheluvarayaswamy said.
The minister also revived a political episode from 2006, claiming that then Kumaraswamy’s father and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda had called him when Kumaraswamy was allegedly untraceable.
Cheluvarayaswamy claimed Deve Gowda had asked him to locate Kumaraswamy and bring him to Vidhana Soudha by 10am. “I went at 5am and knocked on the door,” he said, without elaborating on whose residence he had visited.
He further claimed that Kumaraswamy knows where he was at the time and why he had gone missing.
The exchange comes amid an escalating war of words between the two leaders over the KPSC controversy, with both sides trading allegations. Cheluvarayaswamy said Kumaraswamy should answer questions about the 2006 episode himself.