BELAGAVI: Karnataka Civil Supplies minister Umesh Katti, who is often in the news for being vocal on the issue of dividing Karnataka into two states, has again said today that North Karnataka will become a separate state after the next Lok Sabha election. He went on to add that a total of 50 new states will eventually take shape in the country.
While addressing advocates during his visit to Belagavi Bar Association on Wednesday, Katti said, "A debate is trending on social media that over 50 new states will be formed in the country after the next Lok Sabha polls. So, it is for sure that North Karnataka will also become a separate state on the basis of population spread across Karnataka. PM Narendra Modi will himself take an initiative on this issue. Three new states will be carved out from Maharashtra, four in Uttar Pradesh and two in Karnataka.''
Justifying his opinion to have a separate state, he said, all the people would have to join hands to make a North Karnataka state possible. "There is no proper water supply in Bengaluru city and people often get stranded in traffic jams. It takes at least one hour to travel 10-km distance there. It takes one and half hours for me to reach Vidhana Soudha from my house located in Bengaluru city. I can reach Vidhana soudha earlier by walking instead of travelling in a vehicle,'' he said.
Already, the Bengaluru city is crammed with a large number of IT and BT companies and that it was impossible for new IT/BT companies to establish their base in the capital city henceforth. "A large number of youth from North Karnataka worked in these companies in Bengaluru. It is high time for IT companies to think beyond Bengaluru and set up their units in North Karnataka, which has a huge potential," he said.