BENGALURU: The Congress in Karnataka has accused the Union Government of political bias after state Rural Development and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge was denied clearance by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for an official trip to the United States.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar expressed his displeasure, drawing parallels with his own experience. “Even during my tenure as the power minister, my applications for foreign visits were often blocked by the External Affairs Ministry. Recently, I had to skip an important international conference due to the same issue,” Shivakumar said.
This reflects the mindset of the Union Government, he said, adding that while a BJP minister was permitted to attend the same event, Priyank was denied which is a clear case of political discrimination.
“We need to learn to be fair in governance. When a minister from the opposition is treated this way, it is hard not to see the political motives behind such decisions,” Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said.
The Congress state unit also took to social media to condemn the move.
“The Union Government has denied MEA clearance to Rural Development & IT/BT Minister @PriyankKharge for an important US trip, including the BIO Convention and DAC. Is this vendetta against a dedicated leader who attended VivaTech 2025 in France? This authoritarian move hampers India’s growth. Demand accountability!” the party posted on X.
The tweet tagged External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and used hashtags like #ModiGovtFail, #PriyankKharge, and #SaveDemocracy to rally support and highlight what the party described as “an authoritarian approach” by the Centre.
The denial of clearance comes at a time when multiple Congress leaders have accused the BJP-led Union Government of using institutions to target the opposition. Priyank was scheduled to attend the Bio International Convention in Boston and Design Automation Conference in San Francisco.