Telangana’s Minister for Information Technology and Industries, K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), alleged on Saturday that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has written a letter to the Foxconn Technology Group, urging the relocation of its proposed Apple AirPods plant from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. However, Shivakumar has denied writing any such letter.
In response to KTR’s claim, the Telangana unit of the Congress party has strongly reacted and warned KTR to be prepared for a legal battle.
KTR made these allegations while addressing a lawyers’ meeting as part of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s campaign for the Telangana Assembly elections. He read out the letter purportedly written by Shivakumar.
The BRS working president asserted that the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister wrote to Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn, stating that several international industries in Hyderabad have shown interest in relocating to Bengaluru. The letter allegedly assured Foxconn that it would encounter no hindrance in Telangana due to an anticipated friendly government.
KTR also commented that the letter serves as an example of what might occur if KCR does not become chief minister for a third term, emphasizing the need for a leader who can safeguard the state’s interests. He criticized the Congress, suggesting that it aims to shift industries out of Hyderabad.
KTR highlighted Foxconn’s agreement to establish a unit in Telangana after four years of state government efforts. He noted that the company’s chairman visited Hyderabad in June last year, signed an MoU with Chief Minister KCR to set up a factory that would provide employment to one lakh people.
The plant is being constructed on 200 acres of land in Kongara Kalan on the outskirts of Hyderabad, with two floors of the building already completed. KTR expects the factory to be ready for inauguration in April-May next year.
The BRS leader also mentioned that Bengaluru has become a hub for the Congress party, with tickets being allocated not only in Delhi but also in Bangalore. He alleged the seizure of large sums of money there, which he claimed was being sent to Telangana.
However, the Congress has criticized KTR for asserting that Shivakumar wrote a letter to Foxconn, and Shivakumar himself has declared the circulated letter as fake, with an FIR lodged in the Cybercrime Police Station.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) vice-president Kiran Kumar Reddy alleged that the BRS was spreading misinformation to mislead the people of Telangana, suggesting that it was a conspiracy by the BRS due to its fear of defeat in the Assembly elections. Reddy stated that the letter was an attempt to divert public attention from the National Dam Safety Authority’s report concerning flaws in the Mediagadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram project.
