"When We Were Friends...": Karnataka Minister Clarifies Amid 'Kaalia' Row
NDTV
Karnataka Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan said this was not the first time he had used the word for HD Kumaraswamy
Amid the massive row over his alleged racist remark against Union minister HD Kumaraswamy, Karnataka minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan has said he called the JDS leader "Kaalia" out of affection and that he was ready to apologise if the comment upset him.
The minister said this was not the first time he had used the word for HD Kumaraswamy. "Why is it that big (an issue)? I would apologise if I had called him that for the first time. In the days when we were close friends, Kumaraswamy used to address me as Kulla (dwarf) and I would call him Kariya (dark). If Kumaraswamy or anyone else is hurt, I would seek their apology," the minister told the media.
A five-time Congress MLA, Mr Khan is a Congress minister in the Siddaramaiah-led state government and handles housing, Waqf and minority welfare portfolios. He was campaigning for the Congress's CP Yogeeshwara in Channapatna Assembly constituency. Mr Yogeeshwara, who had switched to the BJP, has returned to the Congress and will take on HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil in the upcoming bypoll. The Channapatna Assembly seat was vacated when Mr Kumaraswamy, the sitting MLA, was elected to Lok Sabha.
