NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday issued a clarification over defence minister
Nirmala Sitharaman's spat with a Karnataka minister during her visit to the flood-hit
Kodagu district yesterday.
Sitharaman, who was in Karnataka on Friday to take stock of the situation in Kodagu, was seen snapping at state minister SR Mahesh during a joint press conference.
In a statement issued today, the government clarified the sequence of events prior to the incident.
"The tour programme of the RM (Raksha Mantri) was finalized by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives. This programme was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to RM's arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the veterans was added to the schedule," the statement read.
"On completion of the field visits, as per the programme, the RM was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the District in-charge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first. RM clarified that the welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the program. However, the district minister insisted that the RM immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials," the statement read, adding that the defence minister, in order to avoid the situation from deteriorating further, halted the meeting and proceeded to hold discussions with the officials.
Read the full MoD statement
"It was unprecedented to hold such a meeting with all the media persons present," the statement said.
The MoD statement also slammed Ramesh who had said that Sitharaman, being a Rajya Sabha member from the state, is not fully equipped to look after the pain of the people.
"She would have known the pain had she contested election by standing with the electorate, going to every house, meeting voters and asked their problems. She has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka," he told a TV channel.
Criticizing Ramesh for showing "utter lack of regard and knowledge" about the Indian polity, the MoD said that the minister has lowered the dignity of Parliament.
Earlier today, several Karnataka ministers had lashed out at Sitharaman for admonishing Ramesh and expressed disappointment over the incident.
Deputy chief minister and Congress leader G Parameshwara sought to remind Sitharaman that the state government derives power from the Constitution and not the Centre.
"It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague," he wrote in a tweet.
Congress leader and former chief minister
Siddaramaiah , without naming the defence minister, too attacked the ruling party.
"With the conduct of BJP during these difficult times, PM
Narendra Modi's actual formula of 4P to pick new ministers is being clearer," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
