Karnataka Congress MLA Byrathi Suresh and party leader Siddaramaiah are are the centre of a controversy after media reports suggested that the legislator had given the former chief minister a luxury car.

Denying the reports, Congress leader and minister D.K. Shivakumar said Siddaramaiah has not been gifted a Mercedes-Benz by Suresh, but it had been given to him for travelling purposes.

'There is no gift or anything. We sometimes take our friends' vehicles to travel. There is no issue. Is there any record that he has received a gift or anything? Nothing, no record,' he said.

In June last year, Siddaramaiah was in the eye of a controversy after then minister K.J. George allegedly gifted him a Toyota Land Cruiser with fuel coupons for a year.

George, then, had deflected the charges by saying that he had lent the vehicle as Siddaramaiah was uncomfortable travelling long distances in an Innova.

In February 2016, Siddaramaiah had been mired in controversy over a Rs 70-lakh diamond-studded Hublot watch gifted to him.

He later handed over the watch to then Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa amid uproar in the Assembly, declaring it a state asset. Both the Opposition BJP and JD(S) members had staged a dharna in the well of the House.

Countering the allegations, Siddaramaiah had said that the pre-owned watch was presented to him by his Dubai-based NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Varma.

Siddaramiah also said Varma had no official dealings with the government of Karnataka or its organisations.