Siddaramaiah turns down PM offer to head Swachh Bharat team, says he has no time

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that he has declined an offer by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the convenor of a taskforce to implement the Swachh Bharat campaign and instead preferred to be just a member.

"I have been made convenor. I have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying I would prefer to be a member, not convenor of the taskforce to implement the campaign," he said here.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) has notified three sub-groups as decided during the first meeting chaired by PM Modi.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will chair the sub-group on centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar on skill development and Siddaramaiah on Swachh Bharat.

Each sub-group has about 10-11 chief ministers.

Siddaramaiah said he has requested Modi to replace him with someone else as he is busy.

"Please make someone else, not me. I want to be a member. I don't have time," he said.

Swachh Bharath sub-group will decide on institutional mechanisms and technological inputs for ensuring that commitment to Swachh Bharat becomes a part of our life in perpetuity.

According to sources in Niti Aayog, the choice of chiefs of taskforces was left to chief ministers themselves."The chief ministers were asked to discuss and elect from among themselves chiefs of these task forces according to their area of interest."