Karnataka CM urges Modi to back state, saying its future is tied to India’s growth
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar used Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru on Saturday to make a direct appeal: be generous with support
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar used Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru on Saturday to make a direct appeal: be generous with support for the southern state. He said Karnataka’s progress was inseparable from India’s own growth.
The message landed at a high-profile public event in Mysuru, where Modi inaugurated the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Youth Centre, also called Viveka Smaraka, and later joined a public meeting. Shivakumar, speaking in the PM’s presence, described Karnataka and Bengaluru as India’s “window to the world” and pressed for stronger Centre-state cooperation under the spirit of cooperative federalism.
A direct pitch in Mysuru
“Today, my Prime Minister is here, and on behalf of the Government of Karnataka and all the people of this state, I request him to be generous,” Shivakumar said, according to remarks reported from the event. He also said, “I request the PM to be large hearted to help Karnataka, save Karnataka,” adding that the world was looking at India through Karnataka and Bengaluru.
The chief minister tied that appeal to the state’s role in India’s broader image. He said the strength of Karnataka lies in its weather, culture and its pull as a global destination, recalling that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone for Bengaluru International Airport during S M Krishna’s tenure, he had spoken of Bengaluru’s place in the national and international imagination.
Farmers, water and the state’s interests
Shivakumar’s comments came on a day when he also said his government was committed to protecting the interests of farmers. Speaking to reporters at Mysuru airport, he said Karnataka and Tamil Nadu must protect each other’s rights, respect court verdicts and safeguard the honour of the state.
He said the state would decide its course after an all-party meeting on Sunday and legal advice on the issue of releasing 3,500 cusec of water daily for 15 days to Tamil Nadu, as ordered by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. He added that the committee already had details of inflows into the dams.
The chief minister said the state had not asked Karnataka to release even half as much water as in similar situations in the past. The matter remains politically sensitive in Karnataka, where water-sharing disputes with Tamil Nadu have long shaped ties between the two states.
Saturday’s visit was Modi’s stop in Mysuru to inaugurate the memorial and cultural centre before addressing the public gathering. For Shivakumar, the occasion offered a public stage to ask the Union government for more backing — and to frame that ask as part of building both Karnataka and a strong India.
