Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, announced on Tuesday evening his decision to skip the upcoming NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting. The high-profile gathering, set to be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on July 27, will not see the participation of the southern state's leader.


This move comes in the wake of the Congress party's strong criticism of the Union Budget 2024-25, which they labeled as "discriminatory" and "dangerous". In a show of solidarity, fellow Congress Chief Ministers Revanth Reddy of Telangana and Sukhvinder Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh will also abstain from the meeting.


Expressing his frustration via social media platform X, Siddaramaiah stated, "Despite convening an all-party meeting of MPs in Delhi to discuss Karnataka's crucial needs, our state's demands were overlooked in the Union Budget."


The Chief Minister pointed out that even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who attended the aforementioned meeting, seemed to disregard the concerns raised by Karnataka's representatives. "We feel our voices are falling on deaf ears. Attending the NITI Aayog meeting would be futile under these circumstances," Siddaramaiah remarked.


He further elaborated on the state's grievances, noting the central government's failure to address key issues such as the approval of the Mekedatu and Mahadayi projects - both critical to Karnataka's farmers. "There's been no effort to rectify the injustice of reduced funding for our state across various categories. We're still awaiting funds for Metro and other infrastructure projects," the CM lamented.


In a pointed critique, Siddaramaiah accused the Prime Minister of favoring certain states, saying, "Modi seems capable of focusing only on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. We hope Kannadigas will stand with us in our fight for equitable treatment."