The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for prioritising a meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Bengaluru on Tuesday. The Opposition accused the Congress government of 'betraying' Karnataka's interests.
The BJP accused the Congress government of misplaced priorities and took a dig at the Congress leaders for choosing to be in Mysuru to receive senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, who was only transiting to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka Opposition leader R. Ashoka charged that welcoming the head of government from one of the world's strongest economies had been relegated to the back seat. "When political loyalty outweighs the state's development, it's certain that the future of Kannadigas will be doomed," he charged in a post on X.
Merz, on the second day of his two-day official visit to India, arrived in Bengaluru and visited the Bosch campus at Adugodi. He also visited the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science before departing from the city.
"This government, which sacrifices opportunities that could benefit the state just to quench its thirst for power, has proven it has no concern whatsoever for Karnataka or the Kannadigas," Ashoka charged.
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"Any responsible chief minister would welcome such global leaders and leverage this meeting for the state's progress. They would view this encounter with global leaders as a golden opportunity to boost investment, job creation, and industrial development in our state. But look at our state's misfortune...", he added.
"Karnataka deserves leadership that puts the state before the party, progress before power politics, and global opportunities before political appeasement," he said. Ashoka said Congress has failed Karnataka.