New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had a friendly conversation for some time at the Parliament on Thursday. Siddaramaiah, who is on a Delhi visit on the invitation of the Congress High Command, has sought permission from Prime Minister Modi to visit him and discuss the grants to be provided to the state.
PM Modi gave in to Siddarmaih's wish and the Congress leader held a discussion at the Prime Minister's office in Parliament. After the meeting, the CM's office tweeted that the meeting was cordial. Siddaramaiah honoured the Prime Minister with a traditional Mysore Peta (headgear) along with sandalwood garland and artefact. Modi had recently criticised the free guarantee schemes implemented by the ruling Congress-led government in Karnataka. Sources privy to the development said CM Siddaramaiah discussed with the Prime Minister the release of the grants from the Centre to Karnataka under various projects. Siddaramaiah is meeting the PM after taking oath as CM for the first time.
According to sources, the Karnataka government is likely to have requested Modi to supply rice from central agencies for the misfortune of giving 10 kg of rice to all BPL family members. Apart from this, the CM is said to have requested more funds from the central government for irrigation projects, Jal Jeevan Mission, and MGNREGA projects. After meeting PM, CM Siddaramaiah also met Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. During the meeting, they discussed the state projects and other issues related to the Defence issues.
Siddaramaiah also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Highways and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. CM Siddaramaiah, just before meeting the Prime Minister, said, "Everyone is fine in Karnataka. There is no difference between me and DK Shivakumar. We are together."
