Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to meet PM on June 29 during 3-day visit to national capital
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on June 29 during his three-day visit to the national capital to discuss with Union Ministers state projects pending approval from the Centre.
"I will be meeting the Road Transport Minister (Nitin Gadkari), also Prime Minister and the Home Minister (Amit Shah). Will also try to meet the Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman). The Home Minister has still not given the time and he might give today. Will also try to meet Railway Minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) and Jal Shakti Minister (C R Paatil)," he told reporters here.
He said the Prime Minister has given an appointment on June 29.
The Chief Minister, who is leaving for the national capital today, has convened a meeting of MPs and Union Ministers elected from the state in the national capital this evening to discuss projects related to Karnataka pending Centre's nod.
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"We will share the list of projects pending at the central government level and ask them to make efforts in favour of the state government aimed at getting approval for projects and getting funds from the Centre and to help in mobilising resources for the state," Siddaramaiah said.
He said several concerned Ministers from the state government will also be coming to Delhi to explain about the projects.
To a question about the expectations of Karnataka from the first budget to be presented by the new government at the Centre, the Chief Minister said the state government has already shared its thoughts with the Centre through Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. "Gowda had attended the meeting, as I could not. He presented my speech at the meeting."
Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi becoming the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that he will effectively work as the "voice of the people."
"Rahul Gandhi has travelled across the country and has done 'padayatre' (march) twice, and he knows the issues faced by the country," he said.
Regarding Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's statement that the recent Lok Sabha poll results point to the fact that India is not a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, the Chief Minister said: "We have been saying this since the beginning, this is the country of pluralism, it belongs to everyone. It cannot be the country of Hindus alone. It is not possible for it to become Hindu Rashtra."
Noting that people of different castes, religion and language coexist here, he said: "this country has the culture of pluralism. It belongs to everyone. What Amartya Sen has said is right. We have been propagating this since the beginning."
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EC-TMC meet ends on bitter note; CEC asks TMC delegation to 'get lost', MP accused of 'shouting'
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New Delhi (PTI): The meeting between a Trinamool Congress delegation and the full bench of the Election Commission on Wednesday culminated on an acrimonious note, with the TMC saying the panel's chief asked them to "get lost" at the end of the seven-minute meeting, while the EC accused them of "shouting".
After the meeting, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien told mediapersons that they handed over letters from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, and also apprised him of specific instances of poll officials having links with the BJP.
"Then he said, 'Get lost'. We have done eight to nine meetings with the Election Commission. Apart from the CEC, none of the other election commissioners spoke," O'Brien said.
"While we were walking out, one of my colleagues congratulated Gyanesh Kumar for being the only CEC to have notices moved in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for his removal," O'Brien MP said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission said the poll panel chief gave a "straight talk" to TMC leaders.
They accused O'Brien of shouting at the election commissioners and alleged that he asked the CEC not to speak.
The EC sources further said the elections in West Bengal would be "fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, and inducement-free."
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