Prime Minister Narendra Modi began on Sunday his visit to poll-bound Karnataka at the end of the BJP’s 90-day rally. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the rally at Palace Grounds where at least one lakh people, including IT professionals, are expected to attend the programme.
Named ‘Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivartana Yatra’ (journey to build a new Karnataka), the rally across 224 assembly constituencies of the state was flagged off on November 2 by BJP president Amit Shah. Assembly elections in the southern state are due in April-May. The BJP came to power on its own for the first time in 2008 but lost to the Congress after five years in the May 2013 assembly polls.
Here are the live updates:
4.51pm: Narendra Modi begins his speech at the rally and greets the attendees in Kannada. Loud cheers from the crowd.
4.45pm:
PM Shri @narendramodi felicitates Shri @BSYBJP at Parivartana Yatre, Bengaluru. https://t.co/O09xYZ8w2k #KarnatakaTrustModi pic.twitter.com/b4aSY5c4qH
— BJP (@BJP4India) February 4, 2018
4.33pm: Yeddyurappa felicitates Modi.
4.17pm: PM Modi arrives at the Parivartana Yatra. He is joined on stage by state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa, and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar.
3:00pm: Responding to the CM’s tweets, state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa alleged that Karnataka has scripted several firsts like corruption, farmers suicide and collapse of law and order under Siddaramaiah’s regime.
Thanks for the welcome CM @siddaramaiah avare! Yes. Karnataka indeed has scripted several firsts – No.1 Corrupt State, 3,500+ farmer suicides, collapse of law & order, mysterious deaths of officers, transfers of honest officials, crumbling infra of Bengaluru. #KarnatakaTrustsModi https://t.co/TXrdge4hDx
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) February 4, 2018
2:53pm: Claiming that Karnataka is the number one state in investment and innovation, and highlighting Bengaluru as a startup and innovation hub, Siddaramaiah boasted about having scripted several national firsts across key sectors through a unique model of development.
2:50pm: Ahead of PM Modi’s public rally, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah asked him to “find time” to resolve the inter-state Mahadayi River water row with neighbouring Goa.
.@narendramodi ರವರೆ, I am glad you are making time to visit the country’s start up & innovation hub, Namma Bengaluru today.
On behalf of my people, I urge you to find the time for Karnataka’s drinking water needs & help us resolve the #Mahadayi dispute. #NammaKarnatakaFirst
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) February 4, 2018
2:21pm: The city has been turned into a fortress with heightened security for Modi’s visit. At least 1,000 policemen have been deployed around the venue, with another 1,200 traffic police working to manage the traffic, city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar said.
2:16pm: Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal, who are in charge of the BJP poll campaign in Karnataka, and Ananth Kumar, DV Sadananda Gowda and Ananthkumar Hegde, who hail from the state, are expected to take part in the event.
2:15pm: The BJP’s state unit had opened an online registry and used social media to personally invite the youth, techies, educated class and prominent citizens to the venue.
2:11pm: Modi is expected to address a BJP rally at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru.
2:00pm:
Today I will address a rally in Bengaluru. I am delighted to have this opportunity to interact with the wonderful people of Karnataka. You can watch the speech live here. https://t.co/aGxemoOQY4
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 4, 2018
1.55pm: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, pro-Kannada activists demand his intervention in the Mahadayi River dispute.
Karnataka has for long been demanding the PM’s intervention in resolving the river water sharing dispute by calling a meeting of chief ministers of riparian states that includes Goa and Mahrashtra.
Karnataka, which has locked horns with neighbouring Goa on sharing Mahadayi River water, is seeking release of 7.56 tmcft water for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project.
The project is being undertaken to improve drinking water supply to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and districts of Belagavi and Gadag.
It involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, tributaries of Mahadayi River, to divert 7.56 tmc ft water to Malaprabha which meets drinking water needs of the region.
HT
49 comments