Copyright thesouthfirst
A proposal Kiran Shaw never made! Bengaluru’s road fixing hoax hits a media-made pothole! Shaw went ahead and even commented under Chidambaram's tweet expressing "amusement" and calling it a "fabricated news". Synopsis: Congress MP P Chidambaram, referring to news reports, praised Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for “offering to fund Bengaluru road repairs”, but Shaw denied making such an offer, calling out media fabrications. Chidambaram’s post suggested supervising contractors with public funds. No, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw did not offer to fund Bengaluru road repairs. Congress MP P Chidambaram on Wednesday, lauded Shaw for “offering to fund the repair work of roads in Bengaluru” in a post on X. His praise was based on news reports that claimed she was proposing to fund a schemes herself. “I noted with interest Mrs Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s offer to fund the development of some roads in Bengaluru. A great offer! Congratulations! But, the problem with our public works is not the lack of public money; the problem is in the execution of the public work,” he said. Shaw throws ‘fact checking’ volley However, Shaw told South First that she did not make such an offer. “Media and journalists are reporting fabricated news. I never offered to repair roads,” Shaw said while responding to mail. She went ahead and even commented under Chidambaram’s tweet expressing “amusement” and calling it a “fabricated news”. “No fact checking? Really sad to see this n people like u being made to comment!” The media have fabricated this news. I have never offered to repair the roads as is being suggested. I am amused that one journalists’s question to the Dep CM whether he would consider my supposed offer to repair roads seems to have transitioned into mainstream media news! No… — Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 22, 2025 For the past few days, the ruling Congress government in Karnataka and Shaw have been at loggerheads over the latter’s criticism of crumbling public infrastructure in Bengaluru. It began on 14 October, when Shaw, in a post on X, revealed a conversation with an overseas business visitor who questioned the bad condition of Indian roads. Her comments had drawn criticism from top Congress leaders including Priyank Kharge and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Also Read: Why Karnataka must ensure the early completion of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, on Sunday, hit out at people who have been tweeting about Bengaluru’s civic amenities. He said, “Bengaluru city has a population of 1.4 crore. Around 20 lakh people are from outside. The population is high, some come here for education, some for jobs. Some people who came here and grew up have forgotten everything. I have told before also, ‘If you forget the root, you won’t get the fruit’. They have forgotten all that and are just tweeting.” He also alleged a “personal agenda” behind the concerned tweets. What Chidambaram said Explaining how the Karnataka government can carry forward Biocon chairperson’s idea, Chidambaram said, “Governments can tweak Mrs Shaw’s idea: Public money, tender, etc. can be followed to select the contractor. After selection, the contractor will be placed under the supervision of a willing company or industrialist like Mrs Shaw.” He then said that while the contractor would be executing the public project, (giving roads as an example), the final responsibility of the work’s quality would lie with the supervising company. “Any penalties or cost-overruns will be borne by the supervising company or industrialist. Chennai or Bengaluru will be an appropriate place to experiment the idea,” Chidambaram said. The MP has now deleted his post after Shaw denied making such an offer. Meanwhile, in what appeared to be a ‘truce’ after a public spat, Shaw met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on Tuesday. “It was a pleasure to meet Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, entrepreneur and Founder of Biocon, at my residence today. We had an engaging discussion on Bengaluru’s growth, innovation, and the path ahead for Karnataka’s growth story,” Shivakumar said on X, post the meeting. (Edited by Amit Vasudev)
