Shivamogga (Karnataka) [India], July 14 : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple key infrastructure projects, including the Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu Bridge in Shivamogga.
The bridge and the approach roads have been constructed at a cost of over Rs 473 crore by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The cable-stayed bridge across the Sharavati River backwaters reconnects villages severed by the 1960s Linganmakki dam construction.
Accompanied by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Gadkari dedicated the bridge that villagers decorated with celebratory mango leaves. The structure particularly benefits devotees visiting Sigandur's Chowdeshwari temple, drastically reducing travel time.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, and Congress MLAs boycotted the event as a mark of protest after the CM's request to postpone the event on another date was rejected by the Centre.
"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 earlier in the day.
"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.