Gautam Adani Meets Karnataka CM Shivakumar, BJP Alleges ‘Double Standards’

Top industrialist Gautam Adani met Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Sunday, with the Chief Minister’s Office describing the hour-long interaction as a courtesy meeting.

According to sources close to the Chief Minister, Adani had visited the Art of Living before meeting Shivakumar at his residence in Sadashivanagar while returning to the airport. The meeting has drawn political attention as Adani Enterprises has emerged as the lowest bidder for the proposed tunnel road project connecting Hebbal and Silk Board.

The tender for the ambitious infrastructure project, however, has not been officially finalised. It could not be immediately established whether the tunnel road proposal was discussed during the meeting or whether the interaction was limited to a courtesy exchange.

The meeting triggered criticism from the Opposition BJP, which accused the ruling Congress of adopting double standards towards Adani. Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka questioned whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had given Shivakumar permission to meet the industrialist.

“Congress opposes Adani in Delhi while in Karnataka it is in his favour. Isn't this a double standard?” Ashoka said, alleging that the state government had “laid out a red carpet” for the Adani Group.

Ashoka also urged Shivakumar to tell Rahul Gandhi that Adani was a businessman engaged in commercial activities. Taking a dig at Gandhi’s environmental activism, he asked the Congress leader to visit Bengaluru and “hug a tree” at Lalbagh or Sankey Tank, areas he claimed could be affected by the proposed tunnel project.

The BJP has strongly opposed the Tunnel Road project, with party MP Tejasvi Surya also approaching the Karnataka High Court over the proposal.

The political controversy comes as the state government continues to consider the major infrastructure project, while questions remain over its final tender and potential environmental impact.