‘It was a normal courtesy call’: Home minister Parameshwara on Siddaramaiah-Rahul meeting

BENGALURU: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday termed the meeting between the Chief Minister Siddarmaiah and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, at the Mysuru airport on Tuesday, as “a normal courtesy call”.

Without revealing many details, the Home Minister said, “The Chief Minister and the party president have spoken about it. How would we know what exactly they discussed? It doesn’t seem like they had any detailed discussion there; they may have just exchanged pleasantries. It is a normal courtesy call for the CM and PCC president to receive and send him off”.

Moreover, on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) criticism that the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister did not welcome the German Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the Home Minister accused the Central government of now informing the state, saying that “it’s like he came secretly and left secretly.”

“When the German Federal Chancellor came to the country, the Centre should have informed us as well. If he were visiting our state, the Centre should have informed us as well. No one from the state government was invited to the programme he attended. It’s like he came secretly and left secretly”, he said.

“We also have a responsibility — when someone visits our state, we would show respect. But when no information is given to us about the visit, what can we do?” he added.

The Home Minister said that a special cabinet meeting was called against the BJP-led Central government’s repeal of the MGNREGA Act. He said that the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the reformed act has “sparked controversy.”

“A special meeting of the Cabinet today to discuss how the government has repealed the MGNREGA Act, which was brought in by the Dr Manmohan Singh government. A controversy has arisen over removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name and many provisions from the earlier act,” the Home Minister stated.

Speaking on the submission of the Jail Reforms Committee report, the Minister said that action will be taken after the recommendations are considered. Parmeshawara said he will review the report and inform Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“We had formed the committee under the leadership of Vijayendra. I need to review that report and must also inform the Chief Minister. If necessary, we will place it before the Cabinet. We will look at all the recommendations. After that, we will focus on taking action on them,” he said. (ANI)