Deepa Balakrishnan CNN-IBN | 12-Mar-2014 11:09 AM
Bangalore: Days after the Congress pitched Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar founder Nandan Nilekani against Bharatiya Janata Party's five time MP Ananth Kumar from the Bangalore South constituency, the latter has said that he faces no threat from the technocrat-turned-politician. While targeting Nilekani, Kumar also called the Aadhaar card a national threat.
"Aadhar card is not at all good for India. It should be scrapped because non citizens should not be given cards. Cards should be given on basis of citizenship. Secondly, data of citizens cannot be held by a US company, which is servicing Pakistan also," Kumar told CNN-IBN.
When asked whether he sees this as a formidable battle, Kumar said, "I don't think so because already the Congress has run away from the battlefield. The people of Bangalore know that whatever good has happened is because of Ananth Kumar and they also see the record of Narendra Modi as tried, tested and trusted."
Congress has fielded Aadhaar founder chairperson Nandan Nilekani against BJP's five-time MP Ananth Kumar from South Bangalore.
Nilekani had on Monday said that there is no Narendra Modi wave in the country while praising Rahul Gandhi. "Rahul Gandhi's ideas are revolutionary. He is an agent of change and has brilliant ideas," Nilekani said in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN. Nilekani added that he intended to partner Rahul in making that change happen.
When asked why he chose to contest election on Congress ticket when there is anti-UPA wave in the country, Nileknai said that he joined the party because his ideology is in sync with Congress ideology, adding that the party has secular liberal value.
He also said that before joining the party he was a part of Congress family. "The Congress-led UPA government gave me an opportunity to lead Aadhaar project," he said.
While saying that he is confident of winning this election, Nilekani added that he has taken a risk at the right time. "I have taken a considered risk, I thought about it, analysed it and I believe I can win this seat," he said adding that he is happy with his decision.
Nilekani will be making his political debut in this election. The 58-year-old Congress leader was born and brought up in Bangalore. An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Nilekani co-founded Infosys with six others. NR Narayanamurthy is the main founder of Infosys.
The Congress last won Bangalore South in 1989 when former chief minister, the late R Gundurao, won in 1989 by a huge margin.