KTR Invitation To Bengaluru Company To Hyderabad Creates Flutter

A tweet by Telangana Information Technology & Industries Minister K T Rama Rao inviting a company to move from Bengaluru to Hyderabad drew responses from the Congress and the BJP.

On March 30, Ravish Naresh, CEO of Khattabook, complained on Twitter that startups in the HSR/Koramangala areas of Bengaluru were struggling due to bad roads, power cuts and poor-quality water supply.

KTR responded to the tweet the next day. He wrote, "Pack your bags & move to Hyderabad! We have better physical infrastructure and equally good social infrastructure. Our airport is one of the best, and getting in and out of city is a breeze. More importantly our government's focus is on innovation, infrastructure and inclusive growth."

"Once upon time, Bengaluru was widely regarded as the Silicon valley of India because of its role as the nation's leading IT exporter. Now the situation has changed, and all IT companies are looking at Hyderabad for their investments because of the facilities being offered by the state government. Hyderabad is now a venue for the best investment opportunities, technology, infrastructure and facilities," KTR claimed.

The references to social infrastructure and inclusive growth attracted attention given the ongoing controversies in Karnataka over the wearing of hijab in educational institutions and opposition to the sale of halaal meat.

On Monday, Karnataka Congress unit chief D K Shiva Kumar tweeted that he accepted the "challenge" of KTR, referring to the TRS leader as "my friend".

Shiva Kumar said, "By the end of 2023, with the Congress back in power in Karnataka, we will restore the glory of Bengaluru as India's best city."

KTR responded to Shivakumar calling for a focus on infrastructure and IT, and not on halaal and hijab.

KTR wrote, "Dear @DKShivakumar Anna, I don't know much about the politics of Karnataka & who will win, but challenge accepted. Let Hyderabad & Bengaluru compete healthily on creating jobs for our youngsters & prosperity for our great nation. Let's focus on infra, IT&BT, not on Halal & Hijab."

C N Ashwathnarayan, Karnataka's Minister for Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, was however not impressed either by KTR's March 31 tweet or by Shivakumar's response to it.