Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stopped his car and waved at enthusiastic groups of party workers and supporters near the office of Karnataka Public Service Commission close to 'Vidhana Soudha' and at a key traffic junction in Bengaluru.

He was on his way to the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station here to flag off 'Vande Bharat' Express and 'Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan' trains.

Standing on the 'running board' of his car, Modi greeted the crowd, many of whom were seen chanting 'Modi, Modi' slogans and holding aloft the BJP flags.

Later, as he proceeded to inaugurate the Terminal-2 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Modi got out of the vehicle at a major traffic junction near the KSR railway station, walked towards the crowd who gathered in full strength on all sides and waved at them.

"Thank you Bengaluru for the memorable welcome to this dynamic city", Modi tweeted.

Assembly elections in Karnataka are less than six months away.

The Prime Minister is on a visit to Bengaluru to flag off the trains, inaugurate the terminal-2 of KIA and unveil the 108-feet tall statue of founder of Bengaluru, 'Nadaprabhu' Kempegowda.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Terming former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's death a "great loss" for the nation, JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda on Friday credited him with "saving the country" from an economic crisis and preventing it from falling into a "debt trap".

The former Prime Minister described Singh as a simple, honest, and gentlemanly figure. Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday night at the age of 92.

Manmohan Singh served as the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government in 1991, during one of the most critical economic periods in the country's history. He took on the responsibility and did his utmost to save the nation from the economic crises, Gowda said.

Speaking to reporters, he said otherwise, the country would have fallen into a debt trap. "Such was the severity of the situation. To address this, the Narasimha Rao government with Singh as the Finance Minister made the decision to pledge 130 tonnes of gold."

Singh then introduced economic reforms such as liberalisation, privatisation, and foreign direct investment, Gowda said, adding that all these initiatives were implemented by him as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

Manmohan Singh was a distinguished economist who worked at the World Bank, served as the Reserve Bank Governor, and acted as an advisor to the Government of India. With his vast experience, he went on to serve the nation for ten years as Prime Minister. His death is a great loss to the nation, he added.