Bengaluru, Aug. 24 -- Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday, August 24, defended Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's meeting with industrialist Gautam Adani, saying the latter had met the Chief Minister as a government contractor after emerging as the L1 bidder for two projects.

Kharge said the state government could not reject or alter a tender merely because the successful bidder was a prominent industrialist.

"Adani is a contractor, a government contractor. He has emerged as L1 in two projects that are important for Karnataka," Kharge said.

He maintained that the tendering process had been transparent and that the government had no reason to interfere with the outcome if all rules had been followed.

According to Kharge, the...