3 months ago
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Karnataka authorities has refuted allegations made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that determination was a protocol lapse during the caller sojourn of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Bengaluru. All established diplomatic procedures were duly followed, said Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR).
The BJP had criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for not being contiguous to person the German Chancellor, alleging that they skipped the engagement to be a gathering with Congress person Rahul Gandhi successful Mysuru.
In an authoritative clarification, M.A. Manusur, Under Secretary to government, DPAR, State Etiquette- Foreign Affairs Cell, stated that the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Shalini Rajneesh, had formally communicated with the Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, accepting the connection for a government-level enactment with the German Chancellor and suggesting January 12 arsenic the day for the meeting.
However, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, successful a missive dated January 8, informed the State authorities that owed to the Chancellor’s choky docket successful Bengaluru, it would not beryllium imaginable for him to conscionable the Chief Minister personally. The embassy further noted that the Chancellor was besides not gathering the State authorities enactment successful Gujarat, and that gathering lone the Chief Minister of Karnataka could beryllium perceived arsenic an imbalance.
Additionally, the Ministry of External Affairs, successful an email dated January 8, 2026, advised the Government of Karnataka that the visiting dignitary could beryllium formally received and seen disconnected by a Minister (Protocol) nominated by the Chief Minister. Following this, Mr. Siddaramaiah had nominated M.B. Patil, Minister for Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development.
All actions had been taken successful accordance with diplomatic norms and directions from the Ministry of External Affairs, asserted a clarification from the DPAR.
