Bengaluru: (Nov 14) Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday offered a humorous account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi buying his Metro ticket by swiping his own smart card, saying he had no money with him when they travelled on the newly inaugurated Pink Line Metro.
“I did not have money with me. So I told him, ‘You buy my ticket’. He swiped his card for me as well,” Shivakumar told reporters while travelling with them on the Pink Line, which Modi inaugurated on November 13. Shivakumar travelled in the metro as part of his journey from Kengeri to Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, BMRCL said in a release.
After inaugurating the Pink Line of Bengaluru metro, Modi travelled with Shivakumar, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Friday.
Before boarding the train, both leaders stopped at the Namma Metro counter to buy tickets. PM Modi purchased his ticket digitally using UPI, while Shivakumar stepped up with a card, sparking a humorous exchange that made both leaders and nearby officials laugh.
Following the ticket purchase, Modi and Shivakumar boarded the train together. They traveled along the newly opened 7.5-km elevated stretch between Kalena Agrahara (near Tavarekere) and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) station.
Built at a cost of roughly ₹3,470 crore, this six-station elevated section of the Pink Line pushed the operational Namma Metro network past the 100-km mark. The line officially opened for regular public commuters on November 14, 2026.
Alongside the friendly banter during the ride, Shivakumar used the occasion at IIMB to submit a memorandum requesting a more equitable Centre-State funding model for future Metro expansions.
During the same visit to Bengaluru, the Prime Minister also flagged off the Bengaluru–Mangaluru–Madgaon Vande Bharat Express and launched broader regional development projects.
