Shivakumar Responds to BJP Allegations: ‘My Watch, My Money, My Affidavit'

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday delivered a blistering rebuttal to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allegations that he deliberately omitted an expensive luxury watch from his election affidavit filed during the 2023 Assembly polls. The controversy erupted after BJP MLC C.T. Ravi Narayanaswamy publicly questioned the source and disclosure of a high-end timepiece seen on Shivakumar’s wrist in multiple photographs, claiming it was conspicuously absent from the list of movable assets declared to the Election Commission.

Addressing mediapersons at Vidhana Soudha, an unfazed Shivakumar launched a point-by-point defence while exuding confidence in his financial declarations. “My watch, my money, my affidavit – what do they really know about it?” he asked rhetorically. The senior Congress leader emphasised that he had transparently declared ownership of a Rolex watch and insisted that every watch he owns was purchased with his own legitimately earned income. “I am the one who paid for these watches from my pocket. Everything stands disclosed. I have nothing to hide and certainly nothing to learn from Narayanaswamy,” he asserted, directly taking on his principal accuser.

The highlight of the press interaction came when journalists reminded Shivakumar of Narayanaswamy’s earlier tongue-in-cheek remark that the watch in question must have been “stolen” since it was missing from the affidavit. Without missing a beat, Shivakumar shot back with biting sarcasm: “Yes, absolutely correct – I stole it from Narayanaswamy’s own house!” The retort triggered instant laughter among reporters and onlookers, instantly going viral on social media and further amplifying the political slugfest now being dubbed “Watchgate” across Karnataka’s political circles.

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Meanwhile, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi seized the opportunity to launch a broader assault on the Congress-led Karnataka government. Accusing the Siddaramaiah administration of being crippled by internal factionalism, financial bankruptcy, and unchecked corruption, Joshi claimed the ruling party was already aware it would not return to power in 2028. He specifically pointed to the simmering power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, alleging that the latter’s camp was demanding “half the share” of the remaining term. Joshi also lambasted the government over Bengaluru’s deteriorating infrastructure, describing the state capital as a city “drowning in potholes” and emblematic of administrative collapse.

The luxury-watch controversy has emerged at a time when Karnataka’s political temperature is already running high, with succession battles inside the Congress, allegations of large-scale corruption in multiple departments, and Rahul Gandhi’s recent charge that the Union government was actively discouraging foreign dignitaries from meeting him as Leader of the Opposition. As the war of words escalates, the seemingly trivial issue of an expensive wristwatch has morphed into yet another flashpoint in the intensifying Congress-BJP rivalry in the southern state.

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