Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

BANGALORE: Most political spouses make news for being too visible. In chief minister Siddaramaiah’s case, his wife Parvathi’s total absence from his public life - she wasn’t even spotted at this mammoth swearing-in ceremony -- has now become a talking point, albeit in a lighter vein, even in the state assembly.
 
Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar on Friday said that he had not seen Siddaramaiah’s wife even once despite knowing him for last 35 years. "CM’s Anthapura (queen’s territory) is strong. I have heard his wife restricts herself to being a home maker," Kumar said.
 
Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda of JDS urged the CM to bring along his wife to offer pooja to river Cauvery at KRS dam as the reservoir has reached its maximum level. Siddaramaiah, who was listening to the proceedings with a smile, didn’t rise to the bait, preferring to stay mum on his wife’s continued public invisibility.
 
The discussion came up in the legislative assembly when JD(S) member Y S V Datta, quoting 16th century poet Kumaravyasa’s Mahabharata, said that a king sought to know from a minister the recipe for a welfare state. Salary on time, good agricultural activities and an orderly anthapura were the right ingredients, he was told.
 
Drawing comparison of anthapura with legislature party, Datta said that CM should keep his anthapura (Congress Legislature Party) in good humour in order to be in the chair for full term.
 
Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa disagreed with Datta and said that a legislature party cannot be compared with anthapura. Intervening Kumar said that democracy never existed during Kumaravyasa’s time and the state was ruled by the kings.
 
"Anthapura was a private affair of kings, where queen is to reside. It cannot be compared with legislature party. Even king had to give prior intimation to the queen if he had to enter," he said and added anthapura was where queen, children, queen’s brother lived.
 
Trying to state that queen’s brothers were very influential in anthapura system, Kumar recited an Urdu couplet: "Duniya ek taraf, jooru ka bhai ek taraf.’’ "I have not seen Siddaramaiah’s wife even once. She had not even come for CM’s swearing-in ceremony. As far as I know Siddaramaiah has only one anthapura. If he has more CM should explain," Kumar said in a lighter vein.
 
Smile on his face, Siddaramaiah said "I don’t know anything about anthapura, while some leaders still continue to have. I have no idea about it."