• First meeting with Ministers, officials at 4.30 pm today
• Meeting minutes to be sent to Centre for approval
• SPG, Prime Minister’s Office to take the final call
• Central team to visit Mysuru 72 hours before PM

Mysore/Mysuru: With the conclusion of the voting for the Biennial Legislative Council Polls from the South Graduates Constituency last evening, political and official activities have picked up pace to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Mysuru on June 20 and 21 a grand success and elaborate preparations are underway.

The counting will take place tomorrow, June 15 and even the Model Code of Conduct imposed for the elections will come to an end subsequently. Till now, there was a bar on conducting any meeting involving Ministers and officers due to the Code of Conduct and now since the counting has ended, there are heightened activities.

The first meeting to chalk out the PM’s visit preparations will be held today at 4.30 pm at the DC Office which will be chaired by Mysuru District Minister S.T. Somashekar in the presence of Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar. A final decision on the programmes in Mysuru based on the now-available PM’s itinerary will be discussed and will be sent to the Centre for approval.

As a prelude to this evening’s meeting, Somashekar, accompanied by In-charge Mayor Sunanda Palanetra, MLA S.A. Ramdas, MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev and other officers visited Maharaja’s College Grounds this morning where interaction with PM Modi has been organised. 

SPG, PMO to dictate protocol

At the venue, Somashekar told reporters that the proceedings of today evening’s meeting will be sent to the Centre and they will subsequently be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), AYUSH Department and the Special Protection Group (SPG) for approval.

“Nothing is in our hands and what the PMO and SPG will say and decide will be the protocol,” he said.

“What decisions will be taken at the local level will comprise major and micro-management issues including the stage, entry and exit points, security, routes and movements. We have to just send the proposals and the approval or changes will come from the Centre,” Somashekar said.

According to the Minister, the official itinerary of the PM has not been released yet and programmes are being chalked out at the local level so that the PMO and SPG will take the final call.

“Even the 15,000 limit on the June 21 International Day of Yoga has been finalised by the Centre and we need to see how to accommodate them. Here too, the final call will be taken by the Centre,” he said.

The PM’s programmes will be a Government programme and instructions have already been passed and funds have been released for infrastructure improvement on the routes the PM’s cavalcade will take, the Minister added.

“The Central team will visit Mysuru to oversee preparations 72 hours ahead of PM Modi’s visit and they will have the final say,” District Minister S.T. Somashekar  added.