Last month, as news spread of Bengaluru reeling under a serious water crisis, P. Rajeeve, Kerala’s Industries Minister, extended invitations to information technology (IT) companies in the city to set up shop in Kerala, promising them all required facilities, including water. Though the Karnataka Industries Minister M.B. Patil soon cautioned against attempts to take advantage of the situation in another State, it was seen as an attempt to showcase Kerala’s investment climate during an election season which has witnessed many claims and counterclaims regarding developmental achievements.
“No one had a problem when a State sent an aircraft to fetch the owner of a company which was facing labour-related issues in Kerala,” Mr. Rajeeve tells The Hindu, referring to the Telangana government sending a private jet for Kitex Garments Managing Director Sabu M. Jacob to take part in discussions to set up a facility in that State.
Though industrial stagnation in Kerala was an allegation which used to be raised in the past during elections, now even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government will not claim that, says Mr. Rajeeve.
