Kerala's paradox as a place that has earned superlatives in social indicators but is unfriendly to businesses is well known. A vital reason why businesses are skittish about investing in the state is its rampant and belligerent trade unionism.

But how much has the lost in attracting companies looking to invest in India? Now, a renowned tech honcho has revealed some stark examples of such cases.

G Vijayaraghavan, former chief executive officer of the Trivandrum Technopark, which houses tech companies, cited the example of delegates of German carmaker BMW who visited the state with plans to open a manufacturing plant. However, their visit coincided with a hartal in the state prompting them to abandon the project, he wrote in Dhanam, a Malayalam magazine.

He also narrated how plans to open a hard disk component manufacturing unit in the nineties that could have given income to thousands of women in the state was abandoned. The then opposition leader declined to guarantee a peaceful work environment in the state forcing them to open the factory in China.

Vijayaraghavan, a Kerala Planning Board member, lamented the pathetic condition of the state when it comes to private investment. The Padma awardee said the state government was wasting money in the name of attracting investors with investment meets and rather spend it for the welfare of the people.

The comments by Vijayaraghavan came after the state conducted a two-day conference named ASCEND 2020 KERALA last month in order to attract private entrepreneurs.

However, the event occurred just days after the managing director of Muthoot Finance company was injured after miscreants pelted his car with stones amid the agitation by a section of the employees held under the aegis of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). Further, the event coincided with the nationwide hartal that had the support of the ruling party CPI(M).

Vijayaraghavan said that while these hartals are held across the country, they rarely affect the day to day activities in other states unlike Kerala, the report said. "I am not pointing fingers at anyone. Maybe all this violence are designed by those who want to hamper the state’s progress," he was quoted as saying in the report.