Karnataka IT Minister slams Andhra counterpart over ‘desperate scavenging’ of startups

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and Andhra Pradesh counterpart Nara Lokesh engaged in an online spat over startup relocation. Kharge criticised Lokesh’s overtures to lure Bengaluru startups to Vizag, calling it “desperate scavenging,” while Lokesh defended AP’s investment initiatives

Amaravati: Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge lashed out at his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Nara Lokesh for trying to woo Bengaluru-based startups frustrated over infrastructure woes, into the Telugu State, labelling the move “desperate scavenging” and “parasitic behaviour”.

In an online slugfest on micro-blogging site X, the IT Ministers of both the States traded barbs, especially over Lokesh’s overtures to companies, beginning with BlackBuck, a logistics startup.

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When Rajesh Yabaji from BlackBuck had tweeted recently that it was getting ‘very very hard to continue’ operating from Bellandur in Bengaluru, Lokesh swooped in to lure him to relocate to the port city of Vizag.

“Hi Rajesh, can I interest you in relocating your company to Vizag? We are rated among top 5 cleanest cities in India, are building best-in class infra, and have been rated the safest city for women. Please send me a DM,” said Lokesh in a post on X, replying to Yabaji’s frustration.

On September 23, Lokesh reiterated his Vizag offer to BlackBuck and proceeded to extend another invitation to the logistics startup to the forthcoming Andhra Pradesh – Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit in November to be held in Vizag.

Again, on October 2, Lokesh responded to a journalist’s post on X that Bengaluru’s ‘crumbling’ outer ring road was pushing several startups and firms to Whitefield, a northern suburb of Karnataka’s capital.

Once again, Lokesh seized the opportunity with this reply, “North sounds good. Slightly more north is Anantapur.. where we are building a world class aerospace and defence ecosystem.” However, this overture from Lokesh failed to enthuse Kharge, prompting him to hit back, saying, “It is natural for weaker ecosystems to feed off stronger ones. Nothing wrong with that, but when it turns into desperate scavenging, it shows more weakness than strength.” Showcasing Bengaluru’s might as a tech city and investment magnet, he went on to mention in the same message that the city’s ‘GDP’ is projected to grow at 8.5 percent until 2035, its property market by five percent in 2025 and noted that the city is set to outpace global counterparts in terms of urbanisation, economic growth, and innovation by 2033 as per Savills Growth Hubs Index.

Peppering several other statistics, the Karnataka IT Minister asked “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?”.

However, Lokesh said “arrogance, like potholes on roads, should be fixed first before the journey gets tripped up!”.

As India’s youngest State, Andhra Pradesh is looking for every opportunity to grow and generate jobs, said Lokesh, adding that he truly believes that as States compete for investments and jobs, the country will prosper.

Noting that competition is welcome and that Bengaluru thrives on it, Kharge, however, highlighted on Friday that “desperate scavenging is not a strength”, emphasising on clarity.

“It is the duty of every government to acknowledge problems and provide solutions. And when it comes to arrogance, the farmers of Andhra Pradesh have already advised the Government,” he said, referring to a purported farmers’ land acquisition issue in Andhra Pradesh.

Moreover, Kharge said, “My very best to the youngest State.”