No going back, says Murthy

No going back, says Murthy

Hindustan Times

N.R. NARAYANA Murthy is not returning as chairman of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL). In a communication sent to BIAL's Swiss CEO Albert Brunner from the US, Murthy said he would not go back on his decision to quit.

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said in Bangalore on Sunday that efforts were on to get Murthy back. And Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh had spoken to him over the phone to persuade him to return.

Murthy resigned last week after former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda alleged he had done little to push the airport project forward, and demanded an inquiry into Infosys's application for 845 acres of land outside Bangalore.

Over the next few weeks, Gowda repeated his charges, and dragged Murthy into his political battle with former Karnataka CM S.M. Krishna -- calling the IT don and the present Maharashtra governor "two sides of the same coin."

The Congress, meanwhile, refused to give up hope that Murthy might relent. UNI quoted KPCC chief Mallikarjuna Kharge as saying Chief Minister Singh would meet Murthy to make a fresh request after he returned from the US.