Nara Lokesh, Priyank Kharge argue over investments to AP, Karnataka
Lokesh reacted to a report on startups moving towards North Bengaluru from the ORR region, because of weak infrastructure.
The IT ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka sparred briefly over investments to their respective states on Thursday on social media platform X.
Dubbing Lokesh’s strategy as ‘desperate scavenging’, Kharge wrote that the strategy showed more strength than weakness and alluded to the term ‘parasite’. Lokesh slammed Kharge saying that he was arrogant and that he should fix potholes.
The argument between the two began when Lokesh reacted to a report on startups moving towards North Bengaluru from the ORR region, because of weak infrastructure.
"North sounds good. Slightly more north is Anantapur.. where we are building a world class aerospace and defence ecosystem,” Lokesh wrote.
Responding to this, Kharge said that Bengaluru’s GDP is projected to grow at a significant 8.5% until 2035, positioning it as the world's fastest-growing city and that Bengaluru’s property market will rise by 5% in 2025.
"We are one of the highest migrant absorption cities in India. BTW, what is an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense called?” Kharge said.
To this, Lokesh stated, "As India’s youngest state, we are looking for every opportunity to grow and generate jobs. I truly believe that as states compete for investments and jobs, India will prosper.
My humble suggestion - Arrogance, like potholes on roads, should be fixed first before the journey gets tripped up!”