VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has a busy day in New Delhi on the first day of his two-day visit to the national capital. He held a series of meetings with several Union Ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday. Pawan Kalyan is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on Wednesday.
Soon after landing in the national capital, Pawan Kalyan met Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and discussed issues related to development of tourism in Andhra Pradesh, especially temple, eco, adventure and heritage tourism, and sought support from the Centre.
Elaborating on the AP Tourism Policy, he urged the Centre to release Rs 250 crore under the Special Assistance to State for Capital Investment. He mentioned the three projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme and requested for aid under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme for Arasavalli and Mangalagiri temples. He also sought funding for Paryatak Bhavan in Amaravati, and blue-flag tag for more beaches in the State, besides setting up of National Tourism University in AP.
Later, he met Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil and discussed the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Mentioning that the current dispensation in the State has inherited a legacy of irregularities and negligence in the implementation of the scheme, the Deputy Chief Minister sought 0.24 lakh taps that are not working with faulty pipelines. He stressed the need for extension of the JJM scheme for a couple of years to cover more people.
After that, Pawan Kalyan met Nirmala Sitharaman seeking extension of funding from the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project till December 31, 2026. He also requested for a change in funding pattern from 70:30 to 90:10 ratio for $455 million.
In his meeting with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, he sought sanction of Railway Overbridge on Smarlakot - Uppada Road and also halts at Pithapuram for four express trains originating from Maharashtra. Later, he met Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Panchayat Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh. Later in the night, Pawan Kalyan called on Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. which was a courtesy visit.
I’m not looking after law and order: PK
Pawan Kalyan said he is not looking after law and order when mediapersons asked him about the lack of arrests in some important cases.
When stressed, he said he would convey the message of Delhi media to the Chief Minster and the Home Minister after his return to the State, and asked the media to tell him what they want to convey.