Infosys contribution is 'nothing': Gowda

Infosys contribution is 'nothing': Gowda
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Unleashing a no-holds-barred attack on Infosys Chief N R Narayana Murthy and Maharastra Governor S M Krishna, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday charged that the forces which were working to destabilise the coalition government in Karnataka have deployed Murthy's resignation as a "last weapon" to achieve their target.

Two days after Murthy quit as chairman of the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) expressing displeasure over the accusations made against him by Gowda and his questioning the lands allotted to Infosys, the JDS chief said, "Murthy's resignation is being used as a last weapon to bring down the Dharam Singh government by Krishna and his company."

"It is for congress President Sonia Gandhi to take a decision on the continuance of the coalition government. We will not do anything to destabilise this government as promised to Gandhi," Gowda hastened to add. Continuing his tirade against Infosys mentor, Gowda sought to belittle the IT major's contribution to the sector, which has attracted several heads of states across the world, remarking "it's (Infosys') contribution is nothing compared to other majors in the field like Wipro, IBM and others."

Unlike other IT firm heads, Murthy was indulging in "politics at the behest of Krishna," he said and defended his objections over land allotments made to Infosys to the tune of 1145 acres on two locations on the city outskirts, saying "the allotments were beyond Infosys requirements."

"We or the coalition government has not appointed Murthy as BIAL chief. It is for him to decide to continue or quit," Gowda told reporters, angrily reacting to Singh's statement that he would persuade Murthy to withdraw his resignation.

Gowda flayed the IT major's demand for 845 acres of land allotment on Sarjhapur road which falls in green belt and over 300 acres more near the Bangalore International Airport Project area to set up "new software development centres."

He wanted to know why the coalition government processed these two applications at a lightning speed, and asked why Infosys wanted to built a five-star hotel in one of its campuses, seeking to vindicate his earlier charge that the company was using the land for commercial purposes.

Rebutting Infosys' claims that it has created more jobs, Gowda took a dig at Murthy reeling out statistics on the IT sector employment generation, saying out of three lakh jobs Infosys share is only 22,000.

When other major IT companies such as Wipro still churned out a higher turnover from rented buildings, why was Infosys seeking more land allotment, he asked.

Angry over the "attempts" to topple the Congress-JDS coalition government, he said it began "barely two months after it assumed office and is still continuing."

"If IT sector had any problems on infrastructure bottlenecks, they should approach the government instead of making it a political issue and political confrontation," Gowda said, making references to the media hype built over infrastructure woes of the city.

Asked whether he would bring these issues to the Congress chief's notice, he declared "Why should I. Let her know for herself."

On Murthy’s claims over his contribution to the IT sector, Gowda said "Nobody is indispensable. He (Murthy) is not a solitary individual who has contributed to the promotion of IT sector. Behind an able man there are other able men."

Murthy's resignation from BIAL would not stall Bangalore's development, Gowda said.

Gowda denied that he had cast any aspersions on Murthy in his letter to the Chief Minister demanding that land allotment to it companies be brought under strict scrutiny.

Criticising Krishna, Gowda charged that the Maharashtra Governor committed a "constitutional impropriety" by indulging in politics, holding a constitutional post.

President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take note of Krishna's "activities" and decide on recalling the Maharashtra Governor, he said, but declined to put forth such a demand on his own.

Turning to the claims of the Congress government led by Krishna that it created a congenial investment climate in the state, he said more investments flowed during Janata Dal Government compared to the Congress regime.

He also rejected some Congressmen's charge that Singh was under his control and that the party was "sinking" following power sharing agreement with JDS.

"Braving all insults, my party has been cooperating with Congress in running the government," he said.