Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday arrived in Bengaluru to attend the Regional Conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ for southern states and union territories. He landed at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Airport in the Karnataka capital, and was received by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Shah is set to oversee around 9,300 kilograms (kg) of seized drugs worth ₹1,235 crore being destroyed at the conference. The home minister visited Karnataka BJP strongman and former CM B S Yediyurappa’s residence for breakfast. Interestingly, he insisted on receiving the welcome bouquet from Yediyurappa’s son Vijayendra first.
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In a video of the exchange, he is seen patting Vijayendra’s back and then accepting Yediyurappa’s greetings. Reports suggested that this gesture is being seen by some party members as an acknowledgement of Vijayendra’s contributions, and could be a sign of him possibly contesting in the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
Shah then attended the regional conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’, where he said, “Modi Government has adopted ‘Whole of Government Approach’ against drugs and has increased cooperation, coordination and collaboration between all departments and agencies.”
“The fight against drugs is not the fight of any one government. All departments of all governments will have to fight together. Going ahead of the governments, this should be the fight of the society and the country and we can free the country from the side effects of drugs,” he added.
Shah later arrived at the Kommaghatta village in Bengaluru to lay the foundation stone of Sehkar Samrudhi Soudha and inaugurate various development works of the Karnataka Cooperative Ministry.
Shah is set to visit the southern state on Sunday as well, while prime minister Narendra Modi will visit on March 25 to inaugurate the much-anticipated Whitefield metro line, among other events.
