JOIN USIT&BT Minister S R Patil is understood to have pulled up IT secretary Srivatsa Krishna in front of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following complaints from IT companies that the officer was not cooperating with them.
At a high-level meeting chaired by Siddaramaiah at his home office Krishna, Patil is learnt to have taken exception to the style of functioning of the officer and asked him not to bring a bad name to the government. Patil even told the chief minister that he had received several complaints against the officer from the industry against his style of functioning. But the chief minister did not respond.
Patil is learnt to have told the chief minister that some investors and media persons had directly complained to him against the officer that he did not receive their calls, and even if he did, he did not respond properly.
“Karnataka is known for Information Technology. The government has immense responsibility in not only retaining its name and fame, but also develop the industry further. The officials’ role in this regard is very important,” he noted.
The trigger for Patil’s outburst against the officer was some observations made by him on a proposal to set up a science gallery in the State with the assistance of Kings College, London. Patil, who briefed the chief minister on a programme to sign an MoU on November 30 with officials from London, also made a reference to the observations made by the secretary.
When the officer tried to make a point, Patil interrupted and advised him that he should work towards solving problems and not creating them. Later, Siddaramaiah took exception to Krishna not creating files in Kannada and warned him that he would not sign the documents if they were not in Kannada.
Official sources said Patil and his office had strained working relationship with the secretary for many months now, and hence a lot of work has been pending. The officer, it is said, has the blessings of a top officer in the Chief Minister’s Office.
CM orders suspension
Siddaramaiah is learnt to have ordered the suspension of a local KIADB official for unnecessarily delaying the work to measure and fix the boundary of 50 acres of land allotted to Infosys in Hubli. The chief minister gave this order following Patil complaining against the official.
Patil had complained to the chief minister that the KIADB official was arrogant and had been harassing the companies.