BJP slams CM Siddaramaiah for skipping NITI Aayog meeting, says Karnataka deserves better
Bengaluru, May 25 (PTI): Slamming Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for not attending the 10th meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council in New Delhi, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP on Sunday said Karnataka deserves better.
State BJP President B Y Vijayendra termed the CM's absence a deliberate withdrawal from opportunities that could shape Karnataka's future.
He accused Siddaramaiah of desperately clinging to a slipping chair and focusing more on appeasing the Congress high command.
Sources close to the Chief Minister cited a "prior engagement" in the state as the reason for Siddaramaiah skipping the meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and said he had sent his speech to be read out at the council.
They clarified that the Chief Minister did not "boycott" the meeting.
"The Congress government in Karnataka, unable to hide its complete lack of development work, keeps harping about what the Centre owes, as if blaming Delhi will somehow cover up its failures. But governance is not a blame game or a chorus of complaints; it is a shared responsibility built on cooperation and commitment to the people," Vijayendra posted on 'X'.
Noting that when Narendra Modi invites every Chief Minister for the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council to shape the shared vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, CM Siddaramaiah chooses to skip, he said, "This isn't just one leader missing one meeting—it's a deliberate withdrawal from opportunities that could shape Karnataka's future."
"A Chief Minister desperate to cling to a slipping chair, more focused on appeasing his high command than uplifting his people, continues to place politics over progress. But can true governance ever succeed when politics is prioritised above the people?" he asked, adding that Karnataka deserves better.
Later, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Vijayendra urged Siddaramaiah to tell the people of the state why he did not attend the NITI Aayog meeting.
"Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states like Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, and DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M.K. Stalin attended the meeting, but, unfortunately, our CM Siddaramaiah did not. He should tell the people why he did not attend or whether he boycotted it," he said.
"This Chief Minister and government, along with its ministers and MLAs, can stage protests in Delhi against the central government, but cannot attend such an important meeting. It seems doing politics is more important to this CM than the development of the state," the state BJP chief added.
"This is an injustice to the state. Since becoming Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah has chosen a path of confrontation with the central government, which will do no good for Karnataka," he said.
Pointing out that the CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar have time to hold the government’s two-year celebration in Hosapete, attend the IPL match at Chinnaswamy Stadium, and go to Delhi to knock on the high command’s door when their chair is in trouble, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka said they don’t have time or interest to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, which was attended by the PM and CMs of all states.
He also noted that the CM and Deputy CM did not attend the World Economic Forum meeting held in Davos.
"Why do people like you need politics and public life? For the Congress party, politics is just about having fun and enjoying power; it has no interest or commitment to public welfare or development," Ashoka added.
The Congress government in Karnataka, unable to hide its complete lack of development work, keeps harping about what the Centre owes, as if blaming Delhi will somehow cover up its own failures. But governance is not a blame game or a chorus of complaints; it is a shared… https://t.co/NEggRp1UtS
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) May 25, 2025
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Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
