‘Will respectfully welcome PM Modi, raise K’taka’s issues’: Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be accorded a respectful welcome during his visit to the state, and that the Karnataka government would respectfully raise issues concerning the state with him.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha and later responding to media queries on the premises, Shivakumar said the Centre and the State should cooperate with each other for the larger interests of Karnataka and the country.
“The Prime Minister is visiting the state. We will welcome him respectfully and respectfully place the issues concerning our state before him,” Shivakumar said.
Asked whether the state government would submit any demands to the Prime Minister during his visit, the Chief Minister said Karnataka had several matters that would bring recognition and honour to the country.
“He should cooperate with us, and we should cooperate with him,” Shivakumar said.
Referring to the inauguration of Bengaluru’s Metro Pink Line, the Chief Minister said the occasion was a matter of pride for Karnataka.
“Preparations have been made for the inauguration of the Metro Pink Line in Bengaluru. The inauguration of the Pink Line is a matter of pride for Karnataka, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the state for the occasion,” he said.
Shivakumar said several development-related issues were still pending and much work remained to be done. He added that the Prime Minister also had programmes scheduled in Mysuru and expressed confidence that all the events would be conducted smoothly.
Responding to a question on whether he would raise the issue of drought relief with the Prime Minister, Shivakumar said the state government would make its requests sincerely but declined to disclose the details of his proposed discussions.
“Certainly, we will make our request sincerely. However, I cannot reveal at this stage what I will discuss with him,” he said.
The Chief Minister said he had sought time from the Prime Minister to discuss certain matters privately.
“I have sought time to discuss some issues with him privately. He has asked me to come to Delhi,” Shivakumar said.
Bengaluru has been placed under a tight security blanket ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state capital on Friday, with thousands of police personnel deployed and the Special Protection Group (SPG) closely monitoring the arrangements.
The city police have put in place extensive security measures along all routes through which the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel.
Three Joint Commissioners of Police, 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 20 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 30 Police Inspectors, more than 100 Sub-Inspectors and over 1,000 civil police personnel have been deployed for the high-profile visit.
The SPG team had arrived in Bengaluru around 10 days ago and carried out detailed inspections of all locations connected with the Prime Minister’s programmes.
The security personnel inspected roads, Metro Rail facilities and platforms, besides the venues where Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to participate in various programmes.