Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar shared the vision of the state’s newly-elected Congress government during a conversation with Business Today Executive Director Rahul Kanwal
"Whatever we speak, we honour it, that is the commitment we placed before the Karnataka people,” said DK Shivakumar while talking about Congress’ poll promises. He added, “Sonia Gandhi made me the KPCC president in the difficult times when COVID had started and since then I and my team have not slept.”
DK Shivakumar said, "Today the world is looking at Bengaluru. The world leaders are travelling to this state and then to Delhi. Everyone wants to settle in Bengaluru, whose population is now 1.4 crore. People are coming for employment, education and due to good weather and culture."
In light of the recent incident of an Infosys techie drowning after rainwater flooded an underpass in Bengaluru, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, "I admit that Bengaluru is not such a planned city like other cities, we can't extend our roads." He further added, "I have asked my officials, urban planners to take look at the pain points and ensure that people are safe."
Taking a potshot at PM Modi-led Central government, DK Shivakumar said, “The (Central) govt, promised to bring back black money and give Rs 15 lakh to every citizen. The income of the service class and the profits of the farmers will be doubled. Every year 2 crore jobs will be created. What did the public get from double-engine govt?”
Business Today Editor Sourav Majumdar said Bengaluru has been a start-up hub of India but of late a lot of start-ups like T-Hub are coming up in Hyderabad. He then asked DK Shivakumar what are his government’s plans for start-ups
DK Shivakumar said, “Bengaluru is already known for start-ups. I don’t wanna compete with any other states. Hyderabad doesn’t have floor-area ratio (FAR) and is free to expand. Land prices are low. Bengaluru is costlier.”
During another session with Rahul Kanwal, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil talked about the five promises made by the Congress party. Dinesh Gundu Rao said, " I spoke about single-window clearance, and ease of doing business and will continue to work for the same. So many industries have come up in Karnataka and more will come up."
“You can cross-check with Foxconn itself, I started as an industry minister, and they came and met me and discussed the bottlenecks. We concluded it and promised them the date when the government will deliver,” said MB Patil on Foxconn’s manufacturing plans in India