Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Karnataka Minister Calls Adani Contractor Amid BJP Criticism
Gautam Adani met Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru.
A source said the meeting was only a polite visit.
Adani’s company is the lowest bidder for a large tunnel project in the city.
The bid is worth more than Rs 20,000 crore.
Congress leaders have often criticised Adani’s alleged closeness to the BJP-led central government.
The BJP says Congress is being inconsistent by working with Adani while attacking him politically.
Minister Priyank Kharge said Adani is treated only like any other contractor in Karnataka.
He also questioned whether the BJP still opposes the tunnel project now that Adani’s group may build it.
Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge called Gautam Adani “nothing but a contractor” for the Congress-ruled state.
Adani briefly met Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru in what an unnamed source described as a courtesy call.
The Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder for Bengaluru’s 17-kilometre Hebbal–Central Silk Board tunnel project.
The group’s bid exceeded Rs 20,000 crore, compared with the state’s estimated cost of Rs 17,698 crore.
The BJP accused Congress of double standards for criticising Adani politically while considering his group for state projects.
- Who
- Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Gautam Adani, the Congress, and the BJP.
- What
- A meeting between Adani and Shivakumar prompted political criticism after the Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder for a Bengaluru tunnel project.
- When
- The meeting took place one day before Kharge’s statement on Monday.
- Where
- Shivakumar’s residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- Why
- The BJP alleged that Congress was applying double standards by criticising Adani while considering projects from his group.
Congress and Karnataka Government
BJP Critics
Meaning of the meeting
Congress and Karnataka Government
Priyank Kharge said Adani was treated as an ordinary contractor and that the meeting with Shivakumar was only a courtesy call.
BJP Critics
The BJP portrayed Shivakumar’s meeting as Congress welcoming or courting Adani despite Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of him.
Adani-related projects
Congress and Karnataka Government
Kharge said awarding a project to the Adani Group does not change Congress’s political views of Adani or the central government’s relationship with major business groups.
BJP Critics
The BJP argued that Congress was inconsistent for criticising Adani as a BJP-linked businessman while moving ahead with an Adani Group project.
Tunnel project position
Congress and Karnataka Government
Kharge challenged the BJP to clarify whether it still opposes the tunnel project now that Adani is likely to be its contractor.
BJP Critics
The BJP has opposed the tunnel project, according to Kharge, but its position after Adani emerged as the likely contractor was questioned.
- Meeting description
- An unnamed source described Adani’s meeting with Shivakumar as a courtesy call.
- Project
- A 17-kilometre tunnel project from Hebbal to Central Silk Board.
- Adani bid
- More than Rs 20,000 crore.
- State estimate
- Rs 17,698 crore.
- Adani’s bidding status
- The Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder.
- Political criticism
- The BJP accused Congress of double standards over its treatment of Adani.