Karnataka IT/BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday, February 15, said coastal cities such as Mangaluru and the Udupi-Manipal region have strong economic potential, but investor concerns over communal tensions are affecting investments.
He was speaking at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru during the release of Karavaliya Raktha Kanneeru, a book by journalist Mohammed Irshad that documents communal riots in coastal Karnataka.
Kharge said the state government has been encouraging IT/BT companies to invest in the Mangaluru region, and that firms have responded positively. However, he noted that many remain concerned about the safety of their employees in the event of communal disturbances. According to him, recurring communal narratives and incidents are discouraging investment in the coastal belt.
He said the region’s full potential can be unlocked and employment generated only if political and religious leaders exercise restraint in their remarks on communal issues. Stressing the need to end what he described as “religious intoxication,” Kharge said society cannot progress unless leaders speak responsibly and in an enlightened manner.
At the same event, Kharge criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying he would ensure that the organisation is brought under the ambit of the Constitution and registered under the law. “If not today, tomorrow they will have to register. I will ensure it. As long as we have the law and the Constitution, it will happen. Because we have left them unregistered for 100 years, should we leave them for another 100 years?” he said. He also questioned the organisation’s financial transparency, asserting that no one should be above the law.
His remarks drew criticism from BY Vijayendra, who said the minister should assess “the quality of the soil of the coast and the entrepreneurship and progress of the people there in the real context, without looking at it with the yellow eyes of their low politics.”
He added, “Their vain attempt to label the coast as communal shows their political bankruptcy.” Referring to the Dr Govinda Rao Committee report, Vijayendra said that while taluks in Kalaburagi district are listed among the most backward, the coastal region has developed on its own. He urged the minister to focus on his own region instead of criticising the coast.