Karnataka polls: Sambit Patra alleges Siddaramaiah met 'absconder' Vijay Eswaran in China in 2013

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Sunday hit out at Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over his meeting with “declared absconder” Vijay Eswaran. Patra said that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) had declared Vijay Eswaran an absconder and yet, the chief minister met him during his visit to China in 2013. Siddaramaiah met Eswaran when he went to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in China in 2013 and invited him to invest in Karnataka, said Patra while addressing a press conference in Bengaluru.

In Sept 2013, Siddaramaiah went to attend WEF meeting in China and there he met Vijay Ishwaran who is an absconder. There was another absconder and SFIO has called both a national threat : Dr. @sambitswaraj #SiddaExposed pic.twitter.com/THJY16nz0l

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 6, 2018

Patra also alleged that Siddaramaiah was given a gift by Eswaran and wanted to know what it was. Before concluding his press conference, Patra posed five questions to Siddaramaiah and the Congress party. - He asked Siddaramaiah if he knows Eswaran and if the latter is not a declared absconder. - He also asked the chief minister to clarify if he met Eswaran during his visit to China in 2013. -Saying that there are reports that Siddaramaiah received a “valuable” gift from Eswaran, the BJP spokesperson wanted to know what was the gift -Patra also asked if Siddaramaiah has declared the gift in his assets. -Was the gift a premium Hublot watch? asked Patra. Patra further said that if Siddaramaiah does not answer the charges made by the BJP, Congress president Rahul Gandhi should do so.