Siddaganga mutt to see back-to-back visits by Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah

Their visits gain significance ahead of Assembly elections next year

Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah will have a series of programmes in Karnataka on April 1, including a visit to the Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru and the BJP’s core committee meeting in the city. A day prior, on March 31, former Congress president and MP Rahul Gandhi is also visiting the mutt, a prominent centre for Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, to pay his respect to the late Shivakumara Swami.

Visits by Mr. Shah and Mr. Gandhi gain significance as both ruling BJP and the Congress are preparing for Assembly polls in the State scheduled next year.

Sharing Mr. Shah’s itinerary, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that Mr. Shah would also lay the foundation stone for a medical college and attend a conference of cooperatives. The Union Minister, who would arrive in Bengaluru late on Thursday, would be visiting Siddaganga Mutt and Muddenahalli in Chickballapur the next day, before returning to the city.

Later in the day, the Home Minister will be in Bengaluru to participate in the Sahakara Sammelan (conference of cooperatives) at the Palace Grounds, where he will be unveiling the logo of the State Government’s proposed Nandini Ksheera Abhivrudhi Bank and relaunch the Yashaswini Scheme. Mr. Shah will participate in the State BJP’s core committee meeting at the party office here at 7 p.m.

Mr. Bommai said the Nandini Ksheera Abhivruddi Bank was announced in the Budget and a Government Order has also been issued following the demand and realisation about the need for a financial institution to support dairy farmers.

“The share capital of ₹100 crore will be provided by the State Government for this and ₹260 crore will be provided by milk cooperative societies and federations and unions,” the Chief Minister said. This is the first such bank in the country and it will further give a boost to the dairy industry in the State and increase the income of the farmers, he said. There are about 26 lakh dairy farmers, 14,900 milk producers’ cooperative societies, and 15 milk unions in the State.