"Karnataka is feeling the burn!" was the message delivered by Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday in the ongoing acrimonious dispute with his neighbours on Bengaluru's traffic and infrastructure conditions and their effects on the nation's "Silicon Valley" enterprises and industries.

"Andhra cuisine is said to be fiery. Some of our investments appear to be as well. In a humorous post on X this morning, Lokesh stated, "Some neighbours are already feeling the burn."

Since mid-September, when Rajesh Yabaji, co-founder of a city-based logistics company, complained about the long commute and bad roads leading to his office of nine years, Lokesh and top leaders from Karnataka's ruling Congress—Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and IT Minister Priyank Kharge—have been battling it out online.The leader of the Telugu Desam Party reacted quickly and proposed Vizag as a site. He then started promoting his state as a possible investment destination as more Bengaluru-based companies, business executives, and citizens voiced their dissatisfaction with the city's infrastructure issues.

Last week, an unrepentant Lokesh acknowledged that the speed of changes had caused problems with Karnataka and that Andhra had already drawn over $120 billion in investment. States concerned about the speed, he argued, had to react. "That is their challenge..." he remarked.

And internet behemoth Google picking Andhra over Karnataka - to invest $15 billion in a data and AI hub over the next five years - has added a layer of spice (ergo Lokesh's jibe) to the rivalry.In an attempt to attract the US corporation, Kharge ominously discussed offers of Rs 22,000 crore in subsidies and other perks, such as tax and utility waivers. Lokesh responded with a sharp remark. "What can I do if the Karnataka administration is ineffective? According to their own businessmen, there are power outages and poor infrastructure. "They ought to address those issues first," he stated.

In addition to Google, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw's tweet sparked a dispute between the states. She said that a Chinese colleague had asked her on X, "Why are the roads (in Bengaluru) so awful... why is there so much garbage... The government wants to encourage investment, doesn't it?A new dispute resulted from her tweet and letters from citizens to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah threatening to cease paying property taxes until the city's "killer potholes" and dilapidated infrastructure were fixed.