Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 20: IT Minister Sridhar Babu claimed that the allegation by BRS leader KT Rama Rao that Kaynes Semiconductor shifted from Hyderabad to Gujarat because of the Telangana Government's failure is nothing but an outrageous lie.

'This is a cheap attempt to throw mud on others to cover his own shortcomings. Spreading falsehoods has always been his habit,' said IT Minister Sridhar Babu.

'The truth is simple: Kaynes did not 'flee' Telangana. It was lured to Gujarat only because the Central Government and the BJP State Government there showered massive subsidies. KTR knows this very well, but chooses to mislead the people of Telangana with baseless allegations deliberately,' he said further.

Adding further, the PRO mentioned, 'Sitting comfortably in Hyderabad, leaders of the pink party have made it their daily routine to launch Goebbels-style propaganda, hoping people will blindly believe them. They are living in the illusion that Telangana citizens can be taken for granted.

The fact is: the Central Government approved 50% subsidy under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) for the Kaynes project being set up in Sanand, Gujarat. Everyone knows the Centre launched the 76,000 crore ISM scheme to promote semiconductors in India.'

Once it was publicised that units established in Gujarat would automatically receive a 50% subsidy, semiconductor industries naturally leaned towards that state.

The PRO went further and said, 'For Kaynes' proposed project with an investment of 3,307 crore, the Centre itself offered an extraordinary subsidy of 1,654.5 crore. On top of that, the Gujarat Government extended another 40% of the central subsidy, amounting to 661 crore. Altogether, subsidies covered nearly 70% of the project cost, i.e., about 2,314.9 crore.

Despite ISM's promise of 50% support across India, the Centre has never shown such generosity towards states other than Gujarat.'

Semiconductor companies are naturally convinced by the narrative that in Gujarat, central subsidies will be fully taken care of by the state government. This favoritism--this 'stepmotherly treatment'--is something BJP alone must answer for.

'But instead of questioning the Centre's bias, KTR finds it convenient to hurl baseless accusations against the Telangana Government. His silence on the BJP's favouritism only exposes his lack of courage.

Let it also be remembered: Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy himself admitted that, looking at the incentives given in Gujarat, the subsidy per job works out to 3.2 crore. This speaks volumes about how the Centre and Gujarat lured Kaynes, not about any so-called 'failure' of Telangana,' said the IT Minister Sridhar Babu. (ANI)