A tweet posted by Telangana industries and information technology minister K T Rama Rao in response to a comment from the CEO of a software company on bad roads in Bengaluru has led to a political banter in Karnataka.
Khatabook founder-CEO Ravish Naresh had complained about the poor road infrastructure and power cuts in Bengaluru.
“Startups in HSR/Koramangala (India’s Sillicon Valley) are already generating billions of $ of taxes. Yet, we have bad roads, almost daily power cuts, poor quality water supply, and unusable footpaths. The nearest airport is about three hours away in peak traffic,” he had tweeted.
In a quick response, Rama Rao tweeted: “Pack your bags & move to Hyderabad. We have better physical infrastructure & equally good social infrastructure. Our airport is one of the best & getting in & out of city is a breeze. More importantly, our Govt’s focus is on 3 i Mantra; innovation, infrastructure & inclusive growth.”
This evoked a response from Karnataka Congress chief D K Shiva Kumar. He tweeted that the Congress would be back in power by 2023 in the State and improve the situation.
“I accept your challenge. By the end of 2023, with Congress back in power in Karnataka, we will restore the glory of Bengaluru as India’s best city,” Shiva Kumar tweeted.
Accepting the Karnataka Congress Chief’s challenge, KTR in his response tweeted: “I don’t know much about politics of Karnataka & who will win but challenge accepted.”
The Telangana minister stressed on healthy competition between the two cities.
“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,” KTR said in another tweet.
This has obviously hurt the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka.
State IT minister C N Ashwath Narayaan tweeted: “Karnataka competes globally, & we believe that progress across the country is necessary for India to be globally competitive. Bengaluru is more than its roads – an overall ecosystem of entrepreneurship & talent. An ever-growing city may have infra glitches. We are addressing it”.
Adding to the back and forth twitter banter, Karnataka BJP’s official twitter handle tweeted: “Dear Shri DKShivakumar and Shri KTRTRS, in 2023, both of you friends can pack up & move to any place you like. The “double engine governments of BJP” will not only continue to restore glory to Karnataka but will also take Telangana on super highway of progress and prosperity.”