Gowda to log in, IT logs out

Gowda to log in, IT logs out
VIJAY TIMES NEWS

Bangalore: For someone who has of late been going hammer and tongs at the IT sector , accusing it of ’land grabbing’ and not providing ’adequate employment’ to Kannadiga youth, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s selection as chief guest at the country’s premier IT event, IT .in, is being seen as a damage control exercise.

In response to reporters’ queries about the rationale behind the ’ironic’ choice of chief guest, Karnataka IT and BT Secretary Shankaralinge Gowda said on Monday , "These decisions (of inviting Gowda as chief guest) are taken by the Chief Minister . W e only formalise it." Many in the IT industry feel too much should not be read into the issue. V eer Raghavan, Managing Director of Novell, said, "I don’t attach any importance to this. But when Bangalore cannot withstand even 120 mm of rain, there is no meaning in inviting more companies to invest in the city . Unless the crumbling infrastructure is taken care of, it is immaterial who the chief guest at IT .in is." Bangalore Federation for Information T echnology (BFIT ) Convenor C N Kumar said, "The IT industry is not interested in getting embroiled in political issues and I do not want to read anything based on a single incident (selection of the chief guest)." Gowda’s acerbic remarks are expected to cast a shadow over the event, scheduled to begin here on W ednesday . Among other things, the JDS leader had questioned Infosys chief Narayana Murthy’s contribution to the Bangalore international airport project, following which the latter quit his post as chairman of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

The IT sector has been complaining for quite some time about the poor infrastructure of Bangalore, considered the country’s IT hub. More recently , several IT firms had joined hands and threatened to boycott the four-day event but reconsidered their stand when the government came up with assurances of improving the City’s infrastructure.