The anti-conversion law will not come in the way of growth story, underlined Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, adding that investor confidence is huge and that every state has "domestic issues".
"It has nothing to do with investment, nothing to do with growth story. For last four quarters, lot of other issues, domestic issues, are there. Which state doesn't have domestic issues, one way or another. But the confidence of the investor, both outside the country and inside, is so huge that it has nothing to do with that," he told NDTV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"These are the domestic issues which have been raised; we have to tackle them also. So that's also our responsibility. However, these things are never going to affect the growth story," he stressed.
Earlier this month, Karnataka passed the controversial anti-conversion bill through an ordinance or executive order. The new law is meant to prevent religious conversion either by force or through inducement.
The Congress had strongly opposed the proposed law saying that the Constitution gives every citizen the freedom to practice, preach and propagate his faith and any law banning religious conversion will violate the Constitution.
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh - all BJP-ruled states - also have this law.
AdvertisementAsked what the state government plans to do after the Centre cut the duties on petrol and diesel, the Chief Minister said," After GST, states' options are now limited. We have to look into our resource mobilisation and financial condition before we venture out.
Pressed further, if any relief for the common man is in the offing, he said, "I am looking at it very closely."
AdvertisementThe Chief Minister also said that the state is keen in manufacturing semiconductors and that it has the ecosystem in place.
Since Covid, semiconductors all over the world have become a talking point because of shortages, he said.
Advertisement"The Prime Minister has announced incentives, we have also come up with a policy where further incentives are there. More than that Karnataka being tech savvy, it is a natural attraction for people who are in semiconductors to come to the state," he said making a pitch to investors.
