Union Home and Co-operation Minister Amit Shah will have multiple engagements in Karnataka on April 1, including a prominent Lingayat Math visit and joining the ruling BJP’s core committee, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bomai said on Wednesday. Shah will lay the foundation stone of a medical college and attend a cooperative conference. The Union Minister, who will arrive in Bangalore late on March 31, will visit Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakur and Mudenhalli in Chikkaballapura the next day before returning to the city.
At 10:30 a.m. on April 1, he (Shah) will attend the 115th birth anniversary and Guru Bandana of late Shivkumar Swamiji at Siddhaganga Math. The next day, he will be in Bangalore to attend a co-operative conference at the Shah Prasad ground, where he will unveil the logo of the state government’s proposed Nandini Khira Abhiruddhi Bank and re-launch the Yashshwini scheme, Bomai told reporters here. At 7 pm, Shah will attend a meeting of the state BJP core committee at the party office here.
Interestingly, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also visiting Siddhaganga Mutt on March 31 to pay homage to the late Shivkumar Swamiji, who is highly revered in the state. The visit by Shah and Gandhi is significant as both the BJP and its rival Congress are gearing up for state assembly elections scheduled for next year, though there is speculation about early elections.
Mentioning that Nandini Kheera Abhiruddi Bank has been announced in the budget and a government order has been issued, Bomai said, “This has been done after the demand and realization of the need for a financial institution to assist dairy farmers.” The share capital of Rs 100 crore will be provided by the state government and a total of Rs 260 crore will be provided by the milk co-operative societies and federations and unions. He said it would be the first such bank in the country, adding that it would further boost the dairy industry in the state and increase the income of farmers. The state has about 26 lakh dairy farms, 14,900 milk producing cooperatives and 15 milk unions.
Noting that the government has decided to re-launch the Yeshwini project to meet the demands of farmers, Bomai said, “We will build it in two to three weeks with the aim of providing quality medical facilities to farmers and their families. The state government has given Rs 300 crore for this in the recent budget.
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