NRIs from Karnataka want Congress to retain power: Pitroda
Bengaluru, April 30: The non-resident Indians (NRIs) hailing from Karnataka want the Congress to retain power as the party's manifesto promises to make investing in the state "easy" for the diaspora, said Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Monday.
"The NRIs from the state are coming together to ensure that the Congress wins the state elections because they believe in the party's ideology. The Congress government in the state has promised in its manifesto to ease the process of NRIs' investments in the state," he told reporters here.
Pitroda, 75, a telecom expert, is the Chairman of the party's Overseas Congress Department based in Chicago in the US. He was also the Advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
State capital Bengaluru, which is the country's tech hub, will thrive in the policies that will be brought in by the Congress, he said.
"As the world looks to India for innovative solutions, India looks to Karnataka and in turn Bengaluru."
Through its poll manifesto released on Friday by Congress President Rahul Gandhi ahead of the May 12 state elections, the party said it will make Information Technology (IT) an important driver of the state economy.
The ruling party said it will work towards increasing the IT industry's contribution from the current $60 billion to $300 billion.
Calling Karnataka an "investment hub" in the country, the Congress also said that it will work towards drawing new investments in order to create job opportunities for the people of the state.
The party has vowed to create a total of one crore jobs across the state in five years.
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Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi supressed, says Aaditya Thackeray; demands UT status
Pune, Dec 9: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday alleged that injustice was being meted out to Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi in Karnataka, demanding that the region be declared a Union Territory.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Thackeray said while celebrations are underway over the formation of the new government in Maharashtra, the situation was deteriorating in Belagavi in the neighbouring state.
As the winter session of the Karnataka assembly begins on Monday, members of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti are opposing it. The outfit organised a congregation in Belagavi, but the Karnataka government allegedly prohibited the gathering and banned leaders from Maharashtra from entering the state.
"Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi are being suppressed. Since yesterday, the situation has been deteriorating in the region. Our party workers are being detained. The previous 'unconstitutional' chief minister had promised that they would give extra funds to the Marathi-speaking people living in the disputed territory. What happened to that assurance?" the MLA asked.
He questioned whether the BJP-led government in the Centre was willing to declare Belgavi as a Union Territory.
"Our demand was and is that Belagavi should be declared a Union Territory," he added.
