Modi pats Bommai; Forget Hangal, focus on 2023 polls

CM who was chosen by Amit Shah to lead BJP in Assembly elections, told to provide good governance

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru, Nov. 11:

Contrary to everyone’s expectations that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai would be pulled up for the defeat of the BJP candidate in the Hangal Assembly bypoll, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly told him to take things with a ‘cool’ mind but also advised him to focus on the crucial 2023 Assembly polls. Bommai was closeted with the PM for more than an hour Thursday morning. The CM had gone to Delhi on Wednesday after completing 100 days in office o brief him about the achievements in the last three months and plans for the next 18 months. “When I started explaining to him why we lost Hangal but won Sindagi by a big margin, Modi said that victory or defeat is common in electoral politics. He wanted us to work with the 2023 Assembly elections in mind and provide good governance as we need to win the confidence of people’’, Bommai told the media, after meeting the PM on Thursday. “I also wanted to clear the air regarding the bitcoin controversy being created by the Opposition Congress. The PM said we do not have to worry about it. Work with integrity work for the people and everything will be alright, he said.” Modi visit to Bengaluru The CM informed the media that he had invited the PM to lay the foundation stone for the Bengaluru suburban railway project, the inauguration of Dr B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics at Jnana Bharathi campus, inauguration of 180 upgraded Government iITIs and other Bengaluru-centric developmental works. Instead of visiting the city four times, the PM suggested that two functions be held on each day so that he need to visit the state capital only two times. Modi appreciated the state government’s decision to impart free education to children of farmers and wanted it to become a success so that it could be extended to other states too. According to the CM, the PM was informed about the proposed Transparency Act and was all praise for it. The PM was told that once the Act is implemented, it would check a lot of irregularities in the tendering system such as inflation tender costs without giving reasons, allotting it to only a few individuals and the formation of cartels to prevent it from going to others. The PM wanted the state government to take into confidence teachers, lecturers, vice-chancellors and students of all universities before implementing the National Education Policy. Stakeholders must be explained the benefits of the policy so that it would not create any suspicion in people’s minds, he stressed. “I also gave him details of the AMRUTH scheme and he wanted us to bring in more reforms. The gram panchayats must be roped in for the implementation of Central Government schemes and senior government officers must be roped in for its monitoring. On providing sites to those who do not have them and houses to the homeless, he said the scheme must be implemented from the gram panchayat level which is quite challenging. He also suggested that the scheme could be linked with the Prime Minister’s Awaaz Yojane for better coordination”, Bommai pointed out. “Modi ji said Karnataka is a forward looking state. ‘You should always be ahead of others. We are happy with your 100 days’ performance. Go and work for the welfare of people’, he said. He did not ask for the launch of new programmes but wanted us to fully concentrate on the existing programmes”.