No plans to contest elections; no retreat on airport lease stand: GTech

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], September 13 : Group of Technology Companies (GTech), the industry body of information technology (IT) companies in Kerala on Sunday dismissed reports of joining any alternative political movements or contesting the forthcoming civic body elections.
GTech was reacting to media reports that it is part of a group preparing to contest elections against the stand of political parties on the privatization of Thiruvananthapuram airport and other development issues.
"While we are distressed that the ruling and the opposition parties came together in the assembly to pass a resolution opposing the leasing of the airport, we do not want to directly engage in politics. We continue to work with the governments and fellow trade bodies for the development of the state and its citizens", said Sunil Jose, chairman of GTech.
"Nonetheless, we reiterate our position that it is important that we have a well connected and world-class airport at the capital. This can be achieved through private participation," he added.
Binu Jacob, secretary, GTech said that the organization will continue to stay away from mainstream politics as it has always been.
"While the one lakh fifty thousand IT professionals who belong to the industry in the state have diverse political leanings, GTech has stayed away from mainstream politics and will continue to do so. Our focus is on the uniform, inclusive, and accelerated growth of the IT industry across the state, thereby driving enhanced new job creation and local wealth generation," said Binu Jacob.
GTech represents IT companies across the state, with its membership coming from the three Government-owned IT parks - Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram, Infopark in Kochi, Cyberpark in Kozhikode, and various companies outside the IT parks in the state.