Mangaluru
Dakshina Kannada District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has written to Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the Chairman of the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), expressing strong displeasure over being excluded from the invitation list for the NMPA’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. He alleged that the act was a violation of official protocol and an intentional show of disrespect.
The grand celebration is scheduled for today at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium in Panambur, with several Union Ministers and local representatives expected to attend. However, the absence of an invitation for the district’s in-charge minister has drawn sharp criticism.
In his letter, Gundu Rao stated that while minor breaches of protocol might sometimes occur unintentionally, this instance appeared deliberate. He noted that the NMPA had not forgotten to invite current and former BJP representatives, suggesting a politically biased approach by the port administration.
Acknowledging the port’s valuable service to the nation over the past five decades, he remarked that the present administration seemed more loyal to its “political masters.” Despite the perceived disrespect, he expressed hope that the port would continue to develop and urged that future administrations uphold protocol, recognizing the Mangalore Port as Karnataka’s gateway—not as a political symbol of the BJP.
