Bengaluru, June 18 (UNI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today criticised the Union government for allegedly denying clearance to state Minister Priyank Kharge for a proposed visit to the United States, accusing the Centre of pursuing a "political agenda".

Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said, "Even when I was Power Minister, many times the External Affairs Department did not give me clearance. Recently, I was also supposed to attend a conference abroad, but they didn’t permit me. That is the attitude of our central government."

Kharge was reportedly scheduled to participate in an international engagement, but his proposal did not receive the necessary clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs.

Shivakumar pointed to a perceived double standard, alleging that the same programme had received approval for a BJP leader. "The same program, connected to Bangalore City Corporation, was cleared for a BJP minister and even the Mayor. But they did not clear us. It’s clearly political,” he said.

However, he added that global interest in Bengaluru remained unaffected. "People are coming to Bengaluru from all over the world to do business. No one can stop that," Shivakumar said.

Referring to remarks made at international forums, Shivakumar said, "Even at global events, leaders like Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal have acknowledged that Bengaluru holds immense importance, not just for India, but globally. The world is looking at India through the lens of Bengaluru. Even former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said this while laying the foundation stone of the Bengaluru International Airport. I believe the Delhi government should reflect on this too."

The denial of travel clearance to Kharge has triggered sharp reactions within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, which has accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to restrict the global outreach of state ministers from non-BJP ruled states. UNI BDN SSP