PM Modi in Mangaluru on Friday to inaugurate and lay foundation for Rs 3,800 cr projects
Mangaluru, Sep 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in this coastal city on Friday afternoon during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation for mechanisation and industrialisation projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore and address a mega event.
This visit by Modi for about a couple of hours to this port city, after attending events in neighbouring Kerala, is likely to give a boost to the Karnataka BJP, which is preparing for Assembly polls next year, aiming to regain power in the state, with a target of winning at least 150 of the total 224 seats.
According to party and official sources, the Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at the Mangaluru International Airport at around 1:30 PM, from where he will fly to New Mangaluru Port Authority (NMPA) premises at Panambur by a chopper, and after inaugurating or laying foundation to various projects, he will arrive at the Goldfinch city grounds here, to attend an official public event.
Nearly two lakh people are likely to attend the event at Goldfinch city grounds, they said, in addition to one lakh workers of the BJP, the district administration is also said to have invited about 70,000 beneficiaries of various Union government welfare schemes to the programme.
Party workers and beneficiaries of government programmes are likely to come from various parts of Dakshina Kannada district and neighbouring Udupi.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje, a host of state Ministers, BJP legislators and leaders are likely to participate in the event.
Police have made elaborate security arrangements in the city for the PM's visit.
The visit to Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district is seen as significant after recent incidents of "communal" murders including that of BJP activist Praveen Nettar near here, which triggered widespread protests and spate of resignations by some of its Yuva Morcha members and workers at various places across Karnataka, accusing the state government of not standing up to protect the lives of Hindu 'Karyakartas'.
Several Hindutva ideologues and organisations too had expressed their angst against the government, reflecting similar sentiments.
The visit is also at the time when the BJP government is facing corruption charges of "40 per cent commission" in public works by the state contractors' association, and also allegations of irregularities in several departments by certain organisations and opposition parties, especially the Congress.
The projects that PM will inaugurate or lay foundation tomorrow include: Inauguration the project worth over Rs 280 crore for mechanisation of Berth No. 14 for handling containers and other cargo, undertaken by the New Mangalore Port Authority; lay the foundation stone of five projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore, undertaken by the Port.
He will also inaugurate two projects undertaken by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited viz BS VI Upgradation Project and Sea Water Desalination Plant, worth Rs 1,830 crore and Rs 680 crore respectively.
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Modi govt by changing name of MGNREGA exposed its 'hatred' towards Gandhi: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attempting to change the name and structure of the MGNREGA, has itself exposed its "hatred" towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi.
He also accused the Centre of "altering" the very structure of the scheme, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, and called Modi "anti federal".
Suggesting that the NDA government at the Centre start a "Ministry of Name Change", with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio, the CM warned of a statewide agitation against this name change move.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.
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"The Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is attempting to change the name and structure of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), has itself exposed its hatred towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
Implemented by the UPA government 20 years ago, the MGNREGA scheme has played a crucial role in eradicating unemployment and poverty in rural areas, he said, adding that "this scheme, which guarantees the right to employment to every individual, has received praise from economists both in India and abroad."
Noting that MGNREGA was a genuine form of employment guarantee, the CM said the proposed new structure under the Modi government strips away that guarantee and places the assurance of work at the whims of political leaders.
"This will further deepen caste discrimination and social inequality," he claimed.
Highlighting that the NDA government has altered the very structure of MGNREGA, a scheme whose entire expenditure was earlier borne by the Central government, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, Siddaramaiah said this stands as clear evidence of the "anti-federal attitude" that Prime Minister Modi has followed ever since coming to power.
"This move will also increase the migration of poor people in search of work as the proposed form does not guarantee employment in their own location -- forcing families to travel long distances to survive," he said.
Naming this scheme after Mahatma Gandhi, who sowed the dream of Gram Swaraj, was a meaningful decision, the CM said, "While Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulges in praising Gandhi during his foreign tours, within the country he has consistently engaged in attempts to erase Gandhi's legacy from key national programmes. From a parivar that seeks to glorify Gandhi's assassin Godse, what different conduct can one really expect?"
"Narendra Modi is widely known for simply changing the names of landmark schemes launched by the UPA government rather than preserving or strengthening them. It would be more appropriate for this government to start a 'Ministry of Name Change,' with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio," he said.
More than 25 flagship programmes launched during earlier governments were merely renamed or repackaged by the present regime, the CM further said, listing out that the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was rechristened as the Swachh Bharat Mission, while the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account scheme was rebranded as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, among others.
"These changes reflect a consistent pattern of altering names rather than fundamentally strengthening or expanding the original intent of these welfare initiatives," he added.
Stating that the Congress party and state government strongly condemn this "anti-people" decision of the Narendra Modi government, which has snatched food from the plates of the poor, insulted Bapu, and attempted to strangle state governments financially, Siddaramaiah warned about launching a statewide agitation against this move.
"The responsibility of preserving the MGNREGA scheme in its original form must also be taken up by the lakhs of beneficiaries of the scheme. They must hold the BJP leaders of the state accountable and exert pressure on them to raise their voices against this injustice, rising above party lines," he said.
