Taking serious exception to the alleged derogatory reference to its Bangalore South candidate Ananth Kumar by Jnanpeeth Awardee Girish Karnad, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said such comments by him do not befit his literary stature as a Jnanpith awardee.
Addressing a press conference in Bangalore, BJP leader and former deputy chief minister R. Ashok launched a counter attack on Mr. Karnad for reportedly questioning Mr. Kumar’s contribution to Bangalore city’s development while campaigning for his political opponent Nandan Nilekani.
“Mr. Ananth Kumar has played a crucial role in getting clearance for the drinking water project and Bangalore Metro. We now want to ask Mr. Karnad if he really knew Bangalore and its problems. I have never heard of him talking about the issues related to Bangalore earlier,” he said.