Compiled by KHOO GEK SAN, TAN SIN CHOW and R. ARAVINTHAN
A FORMER chief minister of India’s Karnataka state is facing electricity theft charges after the extravagant Deepavali light show at his house went viral on social media, Malaysia Nanban reported.A video posted by the state Congress party showed the house of HD Kumaraswamy brightly decorated with lights powered by an illegal electricity connection.
His political opponents pointed out that he had been vocal in condemning the state government for “leaving Karnataka in darkness” by rationing power supply even to farmers due to various power grid problems.
Yet, he himself was engaged in unconscionable theft and waste, the critics said.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that the authorities would investigate the matter.
Kumaraswamy, who is now the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, has been charged with electricity theft. He apologised for his mistake and agreed to pay any fine imposed on him.
Kumaraswamy, 63, served twice as the state chief minister.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
