Modi's Bengaluru trip cancelled, Rahul & Shah scheduled to visit Siddaganga Mutt

Modi was scheduled to hold consultations with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Bengaluru and participate in a programme along with him.Rahul Gandhi is expected to arrive in Bengaluru today to participate in the 115th Jayanti of Sri Shivakumar Swamiji on April 1, a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Bengaluru on April 5 has been cancelled.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengaluru has been cancelled. (PTI Image) (PTI Photo)

Some reports quoted BJP sources as saying that, Modi was supposed to meet the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Bengaluru and participate in a programme along with him. However, the Israeli Prime Minister had to call off his visit because he has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Modi too has cancelled his visit to Bengaluru.

This comes as bad news for some, as train passengers and activists were hoping for Modi's visit to the city to open up the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal ( third coaching terminal) for public use after a year of its completion.

A source from the Karnataka Railway Vedike was quoted by a news website as saying, “It has been one year since the terminal has been completed but it’s yet to be commissioned. This delay is a sheer waste of taxpayers’ money and a huge disrespect to Sir MV, who was a statesman who completed many infrastructure projects without any delay...SWR has been spending lakhs of rupees on the upkeep of the station. A stone-laying ceremony would have fast-tracked the Bengaluru suburban rail project, which has been pending for more than three decades.”

The Prime Minister was supposed to inaugurate the terminal and lay the foundation stone of the suburban rail project. It is not clear whether the PM will be in town before the BBMP polls.

Meanwhile, in a political one-upmanship, Rahul Gandhi is set to visit the state on Wednesday, to meet party leaders and participate in the 115th Jayanti of Sri Shivakumar Swamiji on April 1, a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

It looks as if both the BJP and the Congress have set their eyes on Karnataka for the upcoming 2023 assembly elections and are making moves to impress the prominent Lingayat community in the state ahead of the polls.

Rahul Gandhi will be arriving in Bengaluru on Wednesday to meet the most revered and popular seer of Siddaganga Mutt of the Lingayat community and will be proceeding directly to Tumakuru to offer pooja and homage to his seat at 3.30 p.m..

KPCC President D K Shivakumar, who addressed a press meet in Bengaluru on Tuesday, said, "The Gandhi family's association with religious mutts is nothing new. The bond is comparable to that of the god and the devotee. Indira Gandhi's visits to Sringeri temple and Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha to seek their guidance is well known. Rajiv Gandhi had also performed week-long prayers at Sringeri and Sonia Gandhi had visited the Siddaganga Mutt on the occasion of Guru Vandana. It was during S.M. Krishna's tenure (as CM), the Congress government had started the "dasoha" or the mid-may meal scheme for school students, inspired by the mutt tradition."

Significantly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also visiting the Siddaganga Mutt on April 1. Karnataka CM Bommai had said, “Shah would also launch the logo of the Ksheera Abhivridhi Bank and the Yeshaswini programme during his visit. It would give a boost to the dairy sector.”