'K'taka govt gave away ₹60,000-70,000 crore': Mohandas Pai seeks 'special funds' for Bengaluru, questions freebies

Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO of Infosys, on Wednesday sought special funds for Bengaluru in the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27. Pai said that the metropolis has suffered because the state government has given away around ₹70,000 crore in freebies, most of which were not necessary. 

He accused the Siddaramaiah-led government of neglecting Bengaluru and pushing policies that, according to him, were responsible for pushing the state backwards. 

"I think Bangalore should be funded, Bangalore has suffered in this government because this government has given away Rs 60,000-70,000 crore so-called guarantees, 50 per cent of which was not necessary," Pai said in an interview with news agency PTI. 

He added that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's announcement of going back to ballot papers for the Bengaluru city corporation reeks of "absurdity". In September last year, the Karnataka government decided to reintroduce ballot papers in the 2026 local body polls. 

Furthermore, Pai said that such decisions reflected the "mindset of people in power" and risked damaging Bengaluru's international reputation. 

"Bangalore city is the greatest tech city in the world. It is the biggest tech centre in the world in terms of people, and you want to take us backwards by having paper ballots. It is ridiculous... the mindset of people in power. You can't take the city backwards, you are hurting the reputation of Bangalore." 

In the same interview, Pai, however, called Siddaramaiah an 'extraordinary' political leader and a 'role model' for all political leaders across the country as the latter became the longest-serving CM of Karnataka. 

“He has come up from the bottom without anybody helping him, without any family connection, individually because of his hard work, brilliance, compassion, his determination,” Pai noted.