Thiruvananthapuram: Garment major Kitex Group’s managing director Sabu Jacob lashed out at the Kerala government on Friday after backing out of the ₹3,500 crore proposed project in the state and deciding to shift it to Telangana.
“I am not leaving on my own. I was kicked out. Sad, Kerala says it is one of the best investor-friendly states, but ground situation is contrary. Its policies are at least 50-year-old,” an emotionally charged Jacob, the MD of Kitex group, said in Kochi before boarding a private jet sent by the Telangana government. He said he never expected such a fate.
After he announced his withdrawal from the project two weeks back alleging witch-hunt and official apathy, many states have rolled out red carpet to the firm, which is one of the leading apparel exporters of the country. Though Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have shown keen interest, the firm chose the last.
Later, Telangana industry minister KT Rama Rao held a preliminary round of talks with Jacob and sent a private jet to Kochi. The jet was parked in Kochi since Thursday.
“After airing my grievance everyone including Industry Minister P Rajeev was busy blaming me. Kerala has to learn many lessons from its neighbours, otherwise it will become a graveyard of industries,” Jacob said.
{{/usCountry}}“After airing my grievance everyone including Industry Minister P Rajeev was busy blaming me. Kerala has to learn many lessons from its neighbours, otherwise it will become a graveyard of industries,” Jacob said.
{{/usCountry}}He added that it was not a move against the state or its government but a desperate move to save his firm. “I know how to float around but I am really concerned about the future of upcoming entrepreneurs. The state has to change a lot. Let it be an eye opener,” the MD said, adding that Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan “really wanted to change the atmosphere but his efforts are not percolating down”.
However, the Kerala industry minister put up a brave face, saying the government was willing to talk to him. “It is an unfortunate decision. It seems Jacob has made up his mind long before. He’s leaving the state when many major companies have decided to set up their shops in Kerala,” Rajeev said.
He added that the state government had nothing to do with frequent inspections and most of them were result of complaints lodged to the National Human Rights Commission and various other courts. Rajeev also said it was wrong to blame the government alone as most of the complaints were filed by Congress leaders.
Besides calling off the new project, which was signed in 2020 investor meet in Kochi, the MD said he would also be shifting some of the existing units to other states “if the situation continued to be like this”. He said his plan was to open three apparel parks in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad as part of the industrial corridor, which was intended to give jobs to at least 35,000 people. Headquartered in Kochi, the firm provides 15,000 employment and exports ready-made apparels to many western countries.
After its decision to leave the state, the company’s shares shot up by 13% in the last two days.
The firm began as Anna Aluminium Company, founded by Jacob’s father M C Jacob in a small way in 1970s. In 1992, the company entered into garment manufacturing sector as Kitex Garments Ltd. The firm now claims to be the second largest producer of children’s apparels in the world. It released its public issue in 1995 and various state governments often cited the company to paint a rosy picture against its much-criticised trade union culture.
However, the group fell out with major political parties after it floated an independent political party called ‘Twenty20’ in 2015. The party, which currently rules over four local bodies in Ernakulam district, also fielded candidates in the district in the recently concluded assembly elections. According to political observers, some of its candidates received enough votes to become the cause of defeats for many Congress candidates.