By India Today Business DeskIndian entrepreneur and Air Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath, popularly known as Captain Gopinath, said no business will prosper without peace.
Captain Gopinath’s statement came at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable 2023 while highlighting key issues that have been hampering development in Karnataka ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the state.
He said for the past few years, Karnataka has been facing issues that are “emotive” but not essential to development and social harmony. The 71-year-old added that communal and social harmony is the need of the hour in Karnataka, as “no business will prosper” without peace.
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Caste and religious divide
Captain Gopinath said caste and religious divide are the biggest issues hurting development in Karnataka, despite its large talent pool and resources.
He also pointed out that the “Hindu-Muslim divide” is more prominent in Karnataka. “We need to flush out Islamic fundamentalism and also need to be ruthless on Hindu fundamentalism”. “We have a lot of ills in our society, both amongst the Hindus and the Muslims. We have to eliminate that,” he added.
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“There is a lot of hypocrisy between both parties and we need the people to rise above our caste and religious differences and measure the politician purely on the basis of his delivery of the objectives,” he said.
“The problem today for Karnataka is that we actually cannot identify the true colour of the parties because there has been so much movement between them,” Gopinath, who contested two elections in the past, said.
Urban voters indifferent to corruption
Speaking on the issue of apathy among urban votes of Bengaluru, he said people from the lower economic classes, as well as the Dalits, are more politically aware than the “indifferent” middle class, “who are always in front of their TV and criticising”.
“It’s a big shame,” he said.
Another problem that he highlighted is corruption. “There is huge corruption in politics and there is definitely corruption in Karnataka,” Captain Gopinath said. He said people have no choice but to vote for the “lesser of the two evil”.
Corruption hampering growth
When asked which party, according to him, is the lesser of the two evils, Captain Gopinath said he does not want to take a position as he is not campaigning for any of the parties contesting the elections. He, however, said people must not be carried away by the rhetoric or the political speeches of the parties.
“They must measure based on the delivery on the ground,” he said.
When asked how people can curb corruption in the state, Captain Gopinath said, “The way out is to be engaged, we can’t give up hope, we have to be optimistic. Cynicism is not the answer.”
“We need to have the courage to speak to people. We need to have businessmen to also have the courage to speak to the ministers in public forums, not just in their personal chambers. We have to speak the truth,” he added.
Emanuel Schmitt
Ryleigh Mante
Kayleigh Rogahn