'Rahul Gandhi is very important': Congress MLA on Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar not receiving German chancellor Merz in Bengaluru

After the opposition BJP targeted Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for not receiving German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to the city, Congress MLA Ashok Pattan on Wednesday said that BJP is turning "small issues into big ones."

Pattan, referring to Rahul Gandhi, told media "Our leader is very important for us, that is why we went there to receive him." Rahul Gandhi was in Mysuru on Tuesday.

"We wanted to go there and receive him (German Chancellor), but due to an unexpected program, they could not go there. BJP does not have anything in their hand. They turn these small issues into big ones. First, they must solve their internal quarrel," Pattan added.

Accusing the Congress government of "misplaced priorities and missed opportunities", Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly R Ashoka said welcoming the head of government from one of the world’s strongest economies had been relegated to the back seat, while "political loyalty and high command pleasing" were given precedence over Karnataka’s global standing.

Merz, on the second day of his two-day official visit to India, arrived in Bengaluru and visited the Bosch campus at Adugodi.

He also visited the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science before departing from the city, official sources said.

(With PTI inputs)