Gadkari inaugurates Sigandur bridge; CM gives event a miss

Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday inaugurated the Sigandur bridge in Shivamogga. However, the event was boycotted by chief minister Siddaramaiah, citing protocol violations and the absence of a formal invitation.

- Arun Dev

The Kalasavalli Ambargondlu cable-stayed bridge, built across the Sharavathi river in Shivamogga district for ₹473 crore, is the second-longest bridge of its kind in the country at 2.44 kilometres. The event was not attended by neither the chief minister, the public works minister, or local Congress legislators.

"None of us is participating. I was not invited. I spoke to Nitin Gadkari over the phone and told him, he said he would postpone. Then I wrote a letter to him. Probably BJP leaders might have put pressure, without telling me anything, they are doing it. I'm not going. I have a pre-scheduled event at Indi. It was scheduled a month ago, I'm going there," Siddaramaiah said on Monday in response to a question.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, "As a mark of protest, none of us are going, neither I nor the PWD minister nor the district in-charge minister or Sagara MLA." Asked whether it would lead to friction between Centre and state, the CM said, "They (Centre) should invite, right? Who has started the friction? They have started the friction. The protocol has to be followed. The event is being held in our state, and we are in a federal system."