Bengaluru, July 15 (IANS) Responding to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on protocol violation regarding Sigandur bridge inauguration in the state, Karnataka BJP has slammed that there is no protocol violation and the CM is unnecessarily creating an issue.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Opposition Leader R. Ashoka stated, “There was no protocol violation in the Sigandur bridge inauguration programme. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is looking for stones in curd.”

He said it was not right for CM Siddaramaiah to write a letter to the Prime Minister. Frustrated that the credit for the bridge construction is going to the BJP, the CM is trying to create confusion.

The Chief Minister was invited to the programme, and as per protocol, his name was included. If the Chief Minister had other pre-scheduled programmes, he should decide which programme is important and which to prioritise. It is not appropriate to expect the programme’s date and time to be fixed after consulting the Chief Minister, Ashoka criticised.

Which of the state government programmes have sought the advice of opposition leaders and MLAs in Karnataka? In the last two years, as the opposition leader, I have not been consulted or invited to any programme, including those held in Bengaluru. What the state government has done, the central government has also done, the BJP leader slammed.

Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, despite being in Sagara town, which is located very close to the new bridge, did not attend the programme. He said in front of the media that he would attend, but was absent at the last moment. The Congress government has no moral authority to talk about protocol adherence, Ashoka said.

“As the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, I have written six letters to the state government requesting an official government residence, but I have not received a reply to any of them,” he charged.

“I have asked for the same house that was given to the then-opposition leader Siddaramaiah when our BJP government was in power. What is wrong with that? Even after two years, the opposition leader has not been provided an official government residence. This is how the Congress party adheres to protocol,” Ashoka criticised.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, objecting to the inauguration of the Sigandur bridge by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, and stating that organising any programme in the state without consulting the state government amounts to sheer arbitrariness.

Siddaramaiah in his letter stated, “In my sincere opinion, organising any programme in the state without consulting the state government, violating the protocol in the programme invite by printing the name of ex-CM before the names of Dy CM, Speaker of Assembly and Chairman of the Council and proceeding with the programme.”

–IANS

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