Bengaluru, April 13: Karnataka's Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar, who is at the forefront of coronavirus operations in the state, received flak after he shared a picture of himself in a swimming pool with his children during the ongoing nation lockdown on Twitter. Sudhakar, however, did not mention where and when the photograph was taken. He deleted the tweet after drawing flak from the Opposition that sought his resignation. Coronavirus Tracker Live News Updates on April 13.

"After a long time joined my children for swimming hope maintaining social distance here also...haha," Sudhakar tweeted with the picture. Reacting to the tweet, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said Sudhakar should resign "out of his own accord" or Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa should fire him. Shivakumar claimed that even leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had asked him to demand Sudhakar's resignation. Coronavirus Crisis Creates Rift Within Karnataka BJP; Two Ministers Fight For Handling Outbreak.

"When the whole world is going through a health crisis, the Corona in charge Minister Dr. Sudhakar is behaving irresponsibly by spending time in a swimming pool. It’s a matter of moral and ethical standards. He must resign out of his own accord and chief minister should sack him from the cabinet (sic)," Shivakaumr tweeted.

Shivakumar also said that he was aghast that Sudhakar, being a doctor, posted a picture of his personal life during the crisis. "Not just those from my party, BJP leaders themselves called me to ask why I have not demanded Sudhakar’s resignation yet,” the Congress leader said. “Still, I will not press for his resignation. Even the CM or Governor should not sack him. According to me, Sudhakar himself will take moral responsibility and step down."

DK Shivakumar's Reaction to K Sudhakar's Swimming Pool Photo:

Sudhakar, who represents Chikkaballapur constituency, is one of the former Congress legislators whose resignation had led to the fall of the previous Congress-JDS coalition government. He was taken into the cabinet recently after he won the bypolls on BJP ticket.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 05:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).