Bengaluru Mar 17 (DHNS): Union Minister H N Ananth Kumar on Saturday mounted an attack on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, calling him a member of the Kumbhakarna clan.

The mocking remark came during the Bengaluru Rakshisi padayatra in BTM Layout constituency.

"Siddaramaiah does not belong to Kauravas, but to the Kumbhakarna clan," Ananth Kumar said, referring to the mythological character from Ramayana who was known to sleep a lot. The chief minister has been caught sleeping on stage in several public programmes. On March 16, observed as World Sleep Day, the BJP prepared a poster showing Siddaramaiah asleep on a throne.

Kumar also attacked the Congress following former union minister M Veerappa Moily's tweet - he later disowned it - slamming the party's process of selecting candidates. "The Congress' slogan is Mane Manege Congress, but tickets are given only to the homes of its leaders. The Congress has only dealers and no leaders and ticket distribution is done by various lobby groups created by Siddaramaiah in every district."

Further, he hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "working 24x7 for 132 crore Indians" and said Siddaramaiah and Congress worked "only for the Gandhi clan."

'We have support inside, outside Parliament'

Ananth Kumar said there was no threat to the Narendra Modi government in the wake of the no-confidence motion moved against it by the TDP.

"The Modi government has support inside and outside Parliament. The BJP came to power with a majority. In the NDA, we have a 2/3rd majority. We are ready to face any challenge," he told reporters. He said that the Modi government had given Andhra Pradesh Rs 24,000 crore for its new capital Amaravati, Polavaram dam, highways and irrigation projects. "We are with the people of Andhra Pradesh."