Did Karnataka Sign MoU with Foxconn or Was It Publicity Stunt, Asks Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru, March 6 (IANS) JD-S leader and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday questioned Karnataka's ruling BJP government to clarify whether the announcement regarding Foxconn by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was a publicity stunt, or was an MoU actually signed.

Taking to social media, Kumaraswamy charged the BJP government with the policy of "maximum publicity and zero result policy", saying that the government is busy with publicity ads and it does not have any care towards welfare of people, development and generation of employment.

"Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and two other ministers took free publicity on Friday by stating that iPhone manufacturer Foxconn company from Taiwan has come to the state for investment. They held the signed letters in their hands stating the MOU had been signed and posed before the media," he said.

The Taiwanese company, on the other hand, clarified that there were no binding or definitive agreements to invest in Karnataka. "If this is the case, what really happened in the presence of CM Bommai on Friday? Was it a publicity gimmick or agreement? They need to clarify before the people," the JD-S leader demanded.

"There is importance attached to the foreign investments in the post-Covid phase. The government should tread cautiously. The state lost the Ola company because of its own mistakes. Rs 7,614 crore investment went to Tamil Nadu.

"The life of people is more important than elections and publicity. For the BJP government in Karnataka above all comes power and rest is not so important. There is no end to the woes of Kannadigas," Kumaraswamy alleged.

Earlier, Chief Minister Bommai had claimed that the MOU with Foxconn is a big boost to India's Atmanirbhar Bharat ambitions and a testimony to Karnataka's success in drawing investments to the state in the electronics manufacturing and assembly segment.

"Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) has announced a major investment in Karnataka. The 300 acres of land has been identified for this purpose near the Bengaluru International Airport, in Doddaballapura and Devanahalli taluks," he had said.

A Foxconn team, led by CEO and Chairman Young Liu and comprising 16 senior leaders, were in Bengaluru on Friday where they were welcomed at the airport by IT and BT Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan.

They met Large and Medium Industries Minister Dr. Murugesh R. Nirani, and Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, before a dinner hosted by Bommai, where he and Liu were reported to have discussed Foxconn's investment plans and Bommai assured full support for the project, as per a state government spokesman.