New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s absence from the NITI Aayog meeting sparked a political storm with the state BJP on Sunday cornering him for allegedly ignoring the interests of the state by skipping the crucial brainstorming exercise.

The Chief Minister’s office claimed that Siddaramaiah was forced to stay away from the meeting due to his prior commitment in Mysuru, but the official justification failed to pacify the opposition BJP.

The explanation for skipping the meeting, however, failed to pacify the BJP, with state president B.Y. Vijayendra slamming the Chief Minister in a social media post on X and saying, “Karnataka deserves better!”

He described the Chief Minister’s absence as “a deliberate withdrawal from opportunities that could shape Karnataka’s future”.

Vijayendra also hit out at Siddaramaiah for placing politics over progress and staying away from the PM-chaired meeting.

“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?” asked the state BJP President.

He also trained his guns on the Congress government for what he called its failures. “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 responsibility built on cooperation and commitment to the people. When PM Shri @narendramodi ji invites every Chief Minister at the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council to shape the shared vision of a Viksit Bharat @ 2047, our CM @siddaramaiah chooses to skip,” said the BJP President.

Siddaramaiah was not alone among the Chief Ministers from non-NDA states to skip the meeting. West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan also stayed away.

Earlier, PM Modi chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam on the theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. It was attended by Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors representing 24 States and 7 UTs.

–IANS

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