BENGALURU: While several protests erupted across the state on Wednesday, against the arrest of Congress leader DK Shivakumar by the Enforcement Directorate, there was one person from the Congress who chose a different path.

Siddaramaiah chose not to take part in any of the protests and instead took a flight from HAL airport to Mysuru, participating briefly in a protest, then driving towards Kodagu, the home of AK Subbaiah, who passed away nine days ago. Siddaramaiah returned home only by 4 pm, when the protests had all but died out.

Critics pointed out that both leaders had not really shared a great relationship and that Siddaramaiah had kept Shivakumar out of the cabinet for close to a year in 2013 when he became the Chief Minister.  
Even in the 14-month old coalition government, the two were on either ends of the ‘Congress spectrum’ as Shivakumar considered the coalition to be beneficial for the Congress while Siddaramaiah thought otherwise.  

But sources close to the former Chief Minister rubbished talk of him not participating on purpose and said that the Kodagu visit had been planned many days earlier. Subbaiah and his son Additional Advocate General A S Ponnanna were very close to Siddaramaiah. Sources close to Shivakumar also sought to downplay the issue and said that Siddaramaiah had given a call for a statewide protest and also taken part in a protest in Mysuru.

Siddu slaps follower
Former CM Siddaramaiah slapped a former GP president and his follower Nadanahalli Ravi, at the Mysuru Airport on Wednesday. The ex-CM was answering media queries when Ravi came to him with a cellphone. He refused to take the phone, slapped him in a way that was half pat, half slap and left. Ravi said that the issue had been blown out of proportion and that he was a fatherly figure.