Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to boycott Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu bridge ceremony after centre ignores postponement request

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 14 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that he, his cabinet colleagues, and Congress MLAs will not participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu Bridge, which is scheduled to take place later today. He said that it was a mark of protest as his request to postpone the event at Sagar taluk in Shivamogga district was not accepted by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
"I had called Nitin Gadkari and asked him to postpone the program. He said he would postpone it. But now, bowing to the pressure from local BJP leaders, they are going ahead with the event," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
"But here, protocol has been violated. As a mark of protest, none of us is participating in the program. Congress MLAs from the region, the District Minister, and the Minister for Public Works are all staying away. They are deliberately creating a rift between the central and state governments," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Surdeep Singh Surjewala accused the Centre of insulting the Chief Minister and the people of the State.
"Insulting the people of Karnataka and Kanadigas has become a habit of the BJP. This is not just an insult to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, but to the seven crore people of Karnataka," Surjewala told ANI.
"BJP thinks of Karnataka as just a money-making machine. They take one rupee in the form of GST and give us back only 13 paise. They do not give us Rs 5300 crore for the Upper Bhadra project. They don't clear the Krishna Water Tribunal," he added.
Earlier in a letter to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Siddaramaiah said that he was not consulted before the finalisation of the project's dedication and foundation ceremony on July 14, despite his name being included in the draft invitation card.
"I have not been intimated about this programme in advance, and an inauguration programme of various developmental schemes is already scheduled under my Chairmanship in Indi Taluka, Vijyapura District on the same day," Siddaramaiah said in a letter.
Asking Gadkari to instruct his department to coordinate while organising such events, the CM said that it would have been "appropriate" for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to have consulted with the Karnataka government before scheduling the state-level programs.
"It would have been more appropriate for MoRTH to have consulted with the State Government before scheduling the State Level programmes. Therefore, I request you to instruct the department to coordinate with the state government while organising such programmes. Also, I request you to postpone this programme and provide me a couple of dates convenient to you, so that I would be able to join you in this significant state-level programme," the letter read. (ANI)