BENGALURU, 7 AUG

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods was an "economic blackmail", blaming it on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on "headline management".

Targeting the Centre, Siddaramaiah alleged that the Modi government had repeatedly ignored "prescient warnings" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and called on the Prime Minister to "grow up and act in India’s interest."

Gandhi had on Wednesday described Trump’s move as an attempt to bully India into an unfair trade deal. 

Siddaramaiah wrote on X, "Rahul Gandhi called them out early. The BJP mocked him, but he was proven right again and again."

He also cited Modi’s outreach to Elon Musk despite Musk’s proximity to Trump.

"But Trump wasn’t impressed. He saw it not as diplomacy, but surrender," Siddaramaiah alleged.

"He (Trump) did exactly what a true friend wouldn’t: claimed 33 times that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan and backed Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza," he alleged.

CM INAUGURATES LALBAGH FLOWER SHOW

Siddaramaiah inaugurated Lalbagh Flower Show 2025,  saying the event is a tribute to Kittur Rani Channamma and Sangolli Rayanna, who fought bravely against British rule.
He also announced that 110 acres of land will be set aside at the place where Rayanna was hanged. Responding to the BJP’s criticism of the transport strike, he called Opposition Leader R Ashoka a “chameleon”.

"When in power, a facade of drama; when in Opposition, chameleon's drama..! When in power, a mask of composure; when in Opposition, a rage..!" Siddaramaiah said in a statement. "Weren't you the Transport Minister when the transport employees first went on strike for salary revision?"

He alleged that during the BJP regime, transport employees faced unprecedented hardships, including delayed salary payments where "half the salary of transport employees was paid one month and the other half the next month."