A serious debate on the Bengaluru flood situation took a humourous turn in the Assembly on Tuesday when Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah brought up his recent boat ride to Yemlur.
“I went to this place in the Mahadevapura constituency where CEOs and celebrities live in Yemlur. One needs a boat to go there,” Siddaramaiah said, referring to the upscale Epsilon.
Intervening, Mahadevapura BJP MLA Aravind Limbavali said: “There was no necessity to go on a boat. There was another route. I don’t know why you went on a boat.” This had many members laughing. “You were taken from a back route. You have many people with you who misguide you,” Limbavali said.
BTM Layout Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy came to Siddaramaiah’s rescue and said it was the same route that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took. Limbavali denied this and said Bommai did not visit Epsilon. “The CM went to Divyashree.”
Bommai decided to go a notch above. “What amuses me is that the leader of the opposition was taken on a boat in a place where the water was just 1.5 ft,” he said, laughing.
Congress members contested this. “A boat can’t possibly float on 1.5 ft water,” Siddaramaiah said to which Reddy added that there was four feet of water.
“But, I saw in the media. The person who was pushing your boat was just knee-deep in water,” Bommai said.
Congress MLAs accused the government of undermining the flood situation. They said Siddaramaiah used the SDRF boat. “The boat was kept for citizens, but you used it. You could have walked. Maybe people were concerned about you. They didn’t want your feet to get wet,” Bommai said mockingly.
“The day I went, there was 4-5 ft of water. Why should I lie?” Siddaramaiah said.
Limbavali said the place that Bommai visited had more water compared with Epsilon. “The CM is still young, so he walked. Maybe it’d have been difficult for you. Hence, a boat.”
This exchange ended when Siddaramaiah declared: “I took a boat. And, a boat needs water.”