Amid the ongoing Hindutva groups’ efforts to keep Muslims vendors from setting up stalls during temple fairs in Karnataka, Executive chairperson of Biocon Ltd, Kiran Mazumder Shaw has urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to resolve the “growing religious divide” in the state and warned that the country’s “global leadership in tech and biotech was at stake.”
On Wednesday, Shaw referred to a report published in The Indian Express: “Unease grows, Karnataka temple committees, traders admit pressure.”
“Karnataka has always forged inclusive economic development and we must not allow such communal exclusion — if IT/BT became communal it would destroy our global leadership,” she wrote.
Tagging Bommai in a tweet, Shaw, wrote, “Please resolve this growing religious divide.”
“Our CM is a very progressive leader. I am sure he will resolve this issue soon,” she posted subsequently.
In its report, the Indian Express had reported how the campaign to boycott Muslim traders has spread in several temple towns closing down many local businesses. These curbs come after the hijab ban in the state’s government colleges that was upheld by the Karnataka High Court.
