At investors' meet, Rajnath Singh hails Siddaramaiah for statesmanship

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hailed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his “statesmanship” but not before humorously taunting the latter, who is recuperating from knee pain.

“When I came to Bengaluru on Saturday, I came to know about Siddaramaiah’s injury. His presence here indicates that he is recovering. In politics, keeping your leg safe is very important. You have to be very mindful of stumbling blocks everywhere. Siddaramaiahji is a seasoned politician and he has crossed all the hurdles to become the CM. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Speaking at the Global Investors’ Meet, Invest Karnataka 2025, Rajnath Singh thanked Siddaramaiah for inviting him to the event and said: “We belong to different parties and are political opponents. His magnanimous gesture eloquently displays his statesmanship. It raises above limited considerations to work together in the spirit of fraternal ties.”

Inviting industrialists to invest in Karnataka, Singh noted that investors faced numerous challenges in the past. “However, times have changed. India no longer presents investors with red tape, we instead rollout a red carpet for them.”

“Investing in Karnataka gives you access to the country’s vast and diverse resources. If you want minerals, you can source it from Chhattisgarh and Odisha. If you need skilled manpower and hardworking professionals, UP and Bihar will be ready to contribute. If you need MSME output, Noida and Coimbatore MSME’s will provide robust support.”

Noting that India was today in the era of cooperative federalism, Singh said:
“PM Modi served as the Gujarat CM for many years. His first-hand experience of governance at the state level has given us a deep understanding
of the importance of cooperation between the Centre and states. Today, cooperative federalism is stronger than ever before.”

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi acknowledged Karnataka’s start-up ecosystem and said: “Today we have over one lakh startups in the country. In this Budget, we are supporting startups by providing Rs 1,000 crore.”