Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw meets Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar amid row over Bengaluru roads

Following a sharp public confrontation on social media over Bengaluru's deteriorating infrastructure, Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw held separate meetings with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday, October 21. The meetings at their respective residences came days after Kiran's criticism of the city's poor road conditions drew defensive responses from several ministers.

According to reports, the entrepreneur visited the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to extend Diwali greetings and invite them to her nephew’s wedding. The Chief Minister’s Office stated on X, “Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw visited Cauvery residence and extended Diwali greetings to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Chairman of the Legislative Council, Basavaraj Horatti, was also present on the occasion.” 

Shivakumar, in a social media post, said, “It was a pleasure to meet Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, entrepreneur and Founder of Biocon, at my residence today. We had an engaging discussion on Bengaluru’s growth, innovation, and the path ahead for Karnataka’s growth story.”

The meeting drew attention as it followed Kiran’s recent criticism of Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure. On October 13, she had written on X, “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 government 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?’” 

The post tagging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM Shivakumar, and IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge, triggered a heated debate about governance and civic neglect.

Responding to the criticism, Shivakumar had stated, “Instead of tearing Bengaluru down, let’s build it up, together. The world sees India through Bengaluru, and we owe it to our city to rise united!” Kiran replied, “I agree with you, it’s a collective effort with a mindset of urgency and quality. Let’s show everyone how we can fix our city.”

IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge questioned whether Kiran would make similar remarks about Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh, while Labour Minister Santosh Lad said, “Anyone criticising my government, I respect it. You ask Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to react to the Union government on GST? Ask her why she doesn’t speak about GST? They fear. We are proud that our government is democratic, and anyone can criticise.”

In response, Kiran said, “All I am seeking is garbage clearance and road resurfacing, which ought to be done by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Government ministers need to hold them responsible and accountable for shoddy and slow work. Here, the government and citizens need to be on the same page.”

Earlier, Shivakumar had attributed Kiran’s criticism to a “personal agenda” and asked why such concerns were not raised when the BJP was in power. Kiran countered, saying she had criticised the “deteriorating infrastructure” during both BJP and JD(S) regimes as well. “Our agenda is clear, clean up and restore roads,” she said.