Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh minister of human resources and IT, on Thursday joked about the feud that has erupted between the state and Karnataka after Google announced a $15 billion data and AI centre in Vizag.
Taking to social media platform X, Lokesh taunted Karnataka over Bengaluru's being overlooked for investments, saying, “Neighbours are feeling the burn.”
"They say Andhra food is spicy. (It) seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn," Lokesh said in a cheeky post.
Lokesh, who is also the son of Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and top leaders from Karnataka's ruling Congress, including deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and IT minister Priyank Kharge, have been engaged in an online feud since mid-September, when Rajesh Yabaji, the co-founder of a city-based logistics firm, complained about long commute times and poor roads leading to his office of nine years in the Bellandur area.
{{/usCountry}}Lokesh, who is also the son of Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and top leaders from Karnataka's ruling Congress, including deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and IT minister Priyank Kharge, have been engaged in an online feud since mid-September, when Rajesh Yabaji, the co-founder of a city-based logistics firm, complained about long commute times and poor roads leading to his office of nine years in the Bellandur area.
{{/usCountry}}Nara Lokesh's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) responded to Bengaluru’s criticism with an offer of Vizag as a location. The HRD minister has been pushing his state as a potential investment option ever since.
Continuing sparring over Google investment
The ministers from Congress-ruled Karnataka and NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh have spared no expense in addressing investments in the states, with even AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu jumping in.
The Google investment prompted a response from Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, who is also the son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. He pointed at reported offers of ₹22,000 crore in subsidies and other freebies by Andhra Pradesh, including tax and utilities waivers, NDTV reported.
Now the freebies retort invited a dig from Andhra minister Nara Lokesh, who called the Karnataka government “inefficient”.
"If they (the Karnataka government) are inefficient, what can I do? Their own industrialists say the infrastructure is bad... There are power cuts. They should first fix those problems," he said.
Lokesh’s father, Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, made a quip about the issue, saying that the “G in Vizag now stands for Google.”