CM Siddaramaiah’s chopper rides cost taxpayers over Rs 31 crore

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s love for helicopter travel has raised eyebrows. His chopper bills revealed a staggering expense of Rs 12.65 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 19.35 crore in 2024-25, up to January 15, 2025.

What’s more surprising is that he opted for helicopter rides to nearby locations like Mysuru, which is only a 1.5-hour drive from Bengaluru.

As per documents tabled by the government in the house, Rs10.85 lakh was spent on a chopper ride to Mysuru, which takes 1.5 hours by road.

In a question asked by the JDS MLC TN Javarayigowda in the legislative council to provide details on the jets and flights booked by the CM, the CMO stated Siddaramaiah took chopper to even locations like Mysuru, which is barely 1.5 hr from Bengaluru.

The documents tabled by the government in the house show that Siddaramaiah booked charter flights to cities like Delhi and Chennai, which are well-connected by commercial airlines.

One such instance was a charter flight to Delhi, which cost Rs 44.40 lakh, whereas a business class ticket for a round trip would have cost approximately Rs 70,000.

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah and argued that the state’s priorities are misplaced, with allegedly ample funds allocated for the Chief Minister’s private jets and land acquisition, while development, farmer welfare, and infrastructure projects face funding shortages.

“Wah @siddaramaiahavare wah! @RahulGandhi ‘s “paradigm change” governance in full flow in Karnataka – No money for development, No money for farmers, No money for Infra but plenty of money for CMs pvt jets and plenty of land to be grabbed,” Chandrasekhar said in a post on X.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of Karnataka BJP met Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan and handed over a memorandum against the state government’s Bills. (ANI)