An adverse remark by Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao on the Pinarayi Vijayan government's approach to investors is going viral in Kerala.
It was during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a Rs 2,400 crore investment by Kerala-based Kitex Group in Telangana the other day that the minister made the adverse statement.
Kitex Group had decided to make major investments outside Kerala following differences with the Kerala government over frequent inspections by various government agencies at its units in the state. The group's managing director Sabu Jacob had alleged that Kerala was not investor-friendly. Jacob, who heads the Twenty20 forum that contested in the elections, suspected that the inspections were politically motivated.
Recollecting his initial discussions over the phone with Jacob, Rao said that when he offered a special flight to a Kitex Group delegation to visit Telangana for discussions on investment and a visit to the facilities, Jacob was taken aback.
Jacob asked whether he could announce to the press in Kerala that a Telangana minister had offered a special flight for him. Rao replied that he was free to share it but only just before boarding the flight, or else the Kerala government would sit right in front of his (Jacob's) house and office and would not let you go. And that was what he exactly did, said Rao.
These remarks by the Telangana minister are doing the rounds among social media users in Kerala.
While the Kerala government has yet to formally react to Rama Rao's statement, sources in the Kerala government said that it was unfair for a minister to make such remarks against another state.
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