Verification of ‘threatening’ calls and tweets to Priyank Kharge under way: Parameshwara

Home Minister G. Parameshwara has said that he has already issued instructions to verify the source of ‘threatening’ phone calls and tweets against Minister for Information Technology Priyank Kharge.

Mr. Parameshwara was reacting to Mr. Kharge’s complaint that he had received threats after he called for a ban on activities of RSS on government premises and public places.

He told reporters here that the verification of the source of telephone calls and tweets was under way and action would be taken as per law. He said the accused would be traced and brought to book.

Mr. Parameshwara said Mr. Kharge had written a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, making a suggestion to ban RSS activities on public premises and government properties and that he cannot comment on the outcome of the suggestion till the Government took a decision in the regard.

Bengaluru roads

With regard to the reported criticism of the potholed roads in Bengaluru, Mr. Parameshwara sought to assure the heads of IT industries that work on repairing the roads that had been damaged in rains was under way, but took serious exception to the criticism of roads in the State capital just for “political reasons”.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, along with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in charge of Bengaluru, had inspected the condition of the rods and issued directions for their repair while releasing funds for the same, he said.

Mr. Parameshwara trained his guns at the detractors of the Congress government for issuing reactions in the midst of the ongoing repair work for “political reasons”. “They will not do it if they don’t want investment to go away from Karnataka”, he said without identifying the political opponents.

During the Global Investors’ Meet held earlier this year, Mr. Parameshwara said, MoUs worth ₹10 lakh crore had been signed in recognition of an ecosystem that was conducive for investment in the State. “Without such an ecosystem, so much of investment would not have come”, he said.

While pointing out that a lot of industries were coming to Kolar and Tumakuru, Mr. Parameshwara said Google may have opted to invest in Andhra Pradesh for its own reasons and not on account of the condition of a road.

Karnataka had its own ecosystem of a good workforce and technical manpower that attracted industry. Industries would not stay out of the State just because a road was not alright, he remarked.