AI Summit: Southern states driving tech growth were deliberately sidelined, says Priyank Kharge

Kharge was responding to a post by industrialist Mohandas Pai, who had criticised the Karnataka government.

Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge on February 20 alleged that southern states driving India’s technology growth were 'deliberately sidelined' at the recent AI Summit in Delhi.

In a post on X, Kharge said, “As a state, we have extended full cooperation to every initiative of the Government of India, rising above party lines in the larger national interest. Yet, when it comes to national platforms such as the AI Summit, IT Ministers of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka are excluded. No invitations. What explains this deliberate sidelining of States that are, in reality, driving India’s technology and innovation story?”

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He added, “Despite the pettiness of the Modi government, we continue to perform. We continue to attract investment. We continue to scale. We continue to align with the vision for India.”

Kharge was responding to a post by industrialist Mohandas Pai, who had criticised the Karnataka government. Pai wrote that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister Priyank Kharge had been critical, “forgetting the great number of innovators and AI entrepreneurs from Karnataka and Bengaluru who dominated the AI summit.” He added that state leaders should support innovators irrespective of political compulsions.

Further, Kharge said critics highlight alleged missed opportunities while ignoring concrete gains. “Why is it that people only show up with brickbats and never bouquets, even for a job well done?” he asked.

He pointed to recent investments by global players such as Mistral AI, Google, Harvey, ElevenLabs, Disney and Anthropic in Karnataka, describing them as 'real, tangible commitments, not speculative headlines.'

“The pattern is obvious. Hypothetical losses are weaponised for outrage. Concrete gains are conveniently ignored. This selective narrative is not accidental; it is extremely political,” he said.

Kharge further questioned why the contributions of states propelling India’s growth narrative were not being recognised on national platforms. He urged stakeholders to listen to startups, exhibitors and foreign delegates who attended the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to assess its outcomes independently.

He also indicated that he would speak at a later stage about opportunities the state may have missed due to what he termed mismanagement at the Central level.