Bengaluru: Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil on Thursday blamed the previous BJP government for EV frontrunner Ather’s decision to relocate its operations to Maharashtra from Karnataka.
Patil’s response came after BJP President BY Vijayendra’s post on “X” and MLA Aravind Bellad’s statement accused the Congress government of negligence leading to Ather’s departure from the state.
“The previous BJP government had sanctioned only 35 acres to Ather, despite the company’s request for 50 acres. Out of which 5 acres of the allocated land were mired in controversy. Frustrated by these issues, Ather returned the land and ultimately decided to shift to Maharashtra,” Patil explained.
He further elaborated that the Congress government had introduced a forward-looking EV policy in 2017, but the subsequent BJP administration failed to capitalise on it. Patil pointed out that BJP leaders, who are now criticising the Congress over Ather, remained silent when Ola chose Tamil Nadu over Karnataka. “Bellad should remember this,” he added.
Despite these challenges, the recent Congress government promised to sanction 50 acres for Ather near Haraluru-Muddenahalli under the single-window scheme. However, by then, Ather had already decided to move to Maharashtra, Patil noted.