Political circles in Karnataka are abuzz with speculations of significant developments in the next few weeks as the Congress government approaches the halfway mark of its five-year tenure. There is no clarity on a major reshuffle of the Siddaramaiah cabinet or the leadership change, while the party high command’s studied silence is adding fuel to such discussions. A sense of persistent political uncertainty seems to be taking a toll on the administration and Brand Bengaluru.
Be it the potholed roads in Bengaluru frequently hitting national headlines, the Contractors Association making serious allegations against the government, and the hasty execution of the Socio-Economic Survey (caste survey), these expose the government’s shortcomings on multiple fronts.
The latest round of debate on Bengaluru infrastructure was triggered by Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s tweet: “I had an overseas business visitor to Biocon Park who said, ‘Why are the roads so bad and why is there so much garbage around? Doesn’t the Govt want to support investment? I have just come from China and can’t understand why India can’t get its act together, especially when the winds are favourable?”
Many in the private sector and civil society backed her views and called for fixing the infrastructure and civic issues. However, ministers’ response was indifferent — some called the tweet not in good taste as works were in progress, others suggested the private sector should take up works under corporate social responsibility (CSR), while a few even asked if any industrialists would talk like this against the Modi government? Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru development, termed such remarks as ‘hurting their own country’ and reminded the private sector of Bengaluru’s contribution to their growth.
Andhra Pradesh’s Minister Nara Lokesh’s aggressive retorts and equally sharp response from his Karnataka counterparts only expanded the debate to the national level. For nearly three decades, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has been trying to position itself as a worthy competitor to Karnataka. It did manage to get some big investments, the latest being Google investing $15 billion in a data and AI hub.
However, Bengaluru is in a different league. Its USP of being an IT, start-up capital, and innovation hub, availability of talented workforce, top-rated education institutions, research and development facilities, and, to top it all, its salubrious climate and competitive work culture, provides an ideal ecosystem for industries to thrive. It is competing at the global level. That makes it even more important for the government and private sector firms based in Namma Bengaluru to work cohesively to strengthen its infrastructure and image.
While the government cannot absolve itself of its responsibilities to provide the best infrastructure, the business honchos should provide constructive suggestions. After all, they are the ambassadors of the state and its investor-friendly policies. To make that happen, the government needs to take the initiative to bring the industry leaders and civic groups on one platform for regular exchange of views on issues that matter to the citizens.
The need for such a platform is even more crucial in the absence of an elected civic body. What we have now is a top-down approach and a lack of involvement of civil society in decision-making.
While active involvement of citizens would help to put in place a much-needed participatory decision-making mechanism, it also helps the government to build public perception in its favour. It all boils down to the priorities of those in power.
Another issue that could seriously impact its image is alleged corruption in awarding contracts. Earlier this week, the government came under fire from the State Contractors’ Association, which made serious allegations and threatened to stop all works if the government failed to release the pending bills of around Rs 33,000 crore within a month. Some members of the association also accused officials and elected representatives, cutting across party lines, of taking commissions.
The contractors have also decided to approach the Governor and the Congress high command if the State Government failed to address their concerns.
While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has dared them to approach the courts, the allegations do not bode well for his government’s image. In the run-up to the 2023 assembly polls, Congress had made the association’s “40% commission” allegation against the BJP government a big issue, and had promised to fight corruption. It is now facing serious charges from members of the same association. The government and the party need to introspect on that front.
The government’s handling of the ongoing caste census, especially its response to Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife, Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty’s decision not to take part in it, was questionable. The CM and some senior leaders from his party called it “the height of hypocrisy,” “anti-constitutional”, and even questioned “if they are know-alls”. Why criticise Murthys or anyone, for that matter, when the High Court had directed that the participation in the survey is voluntary? Also, concerns are being expressed about their declaration refusing to be part of the survey circulated in the public domain, raising questions about the privacy and protection of survey data.
