Siddaramaiah's U-turn on 'prostitute' remark to JD(S), says 'Was referring to BJP'

Bengaluru: After senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s remark received a backlash from BJP and the party’s estranged ally JD(S), where he compared the party with a prostitute, he issued a saying he was referring to the BJP.

The remark has triggered a fresh row between the two parties, barely days after they blamed each other for the drubbing in the recent national election.

"I was referring to the BJP. It is a very common proverb in the rural areas around Mysuru. Those who cannot run the government call the floor uneven," he was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

On Friday, in response to a query on the JD(S)' attack against him, he had uttered a Kannada proverb -- "Incapable of dancing, a prostitute called the dance floor uneven," he had said.

JD(S) leader Ramesh Babu has slammed the leader for his comment. "Siddaramaiah's statement in Mysuru reflects on his conduct. If a leader loses control over his language, it shows his frustration.

"JD(S) is like paradise for those who love it. It doesn't affect it if someone makes a hue and cry against it. It is fact that during the coalition government both Congress and the JD(S) had danced together," he tweeted.

Earlier this month, JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda said the Congress had been "wrong" in making his son, H D Kumaraswamy, the Chief Minister without consulting Siddaramaiah. Reacting to the comment, the Congress leader blamed his allies for the Lok Sabha polls defeat.

The fragile Congress-JD(S) alliance collapsed in June after it failed a trust vote brought about by the resignations of 16 of its lawmakers. The development took place a month after the alliance could win only two of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.