Shivakumar Accuses Centre Of Being Unfair, Says Attending NITI Ayog’s Meeting Is Pointless

D K Shivakumar

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision to abstain from the July 27 NITI Ayog Governing Council meeting in the nation’s capital was defended by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday. He contended that there is no purpose in attending the meeting when the Central government lacks “fairness.”

Taking to X on Tuesday evening, Siddaramaiah said, “Despite my earnest efforts in calling for an all-party meeting of MPs in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka’s essential needs, the Union Budget neglected our state’s demands.”

“Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also attended the meeting, has ignored the concerns of the people of Karnataka. We have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27, as a mark of protest,” he added.

Commenting on the matter, Shivakumar told mediapersons on Wednesday, “The Union Budget has not done justice to Karnataka. There is no fairness in it. Since the state did not get proper representation in the Budget, the party leaders have decided to boycott the (NITI Aayog) meeting as a mark of protest.”

The Congress had also said on Tuesday that the three Chief Ministers of the party, Siddaramaiah, Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Sukhvinder Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), would not be present at the NITI Aayog conference in Delhi on July 27. The party has labeled the Union Budget as “discriminatory” and “dangerous”.

When asked about the BJP’s strong opposition to the Greater Bengaluru Bill tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday, Shivakumar said, “They are playing politics on this matter. I don’t do anything in haste. I have presented the Bill. Let them thoroughly review and discuss it.

“Bengaluru is growing uncontrollably with a population of 1.40 crore. So good governance is needed here. Decisions should be made considering the infrastructure and the economic system. Let the opposition parties discuss this (Bill). We have no objection to that.”

Shibra Arshad