Kannada outfits furious over Panchjanya attack on Infosys, seek apology

Bengaluru: Several Kannada Organisations in Karnataka have reacted sharply to an article in RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya attacking Bengaluru based software giant Infosys and its founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, a Kannadiga.

They have also demanded an apology from the magazine and warned of a befitting reply if it failed to do so.

Talking to IANS, Praveen Shetty, President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Praveen Shetty faction) described the magazine as stupid and injudicious. "It might be an RSS mouthpiece. But, we all remember the journey of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy. They have been an inspiration for the youth. They have set standards for other corporates and the society," he said.

"We have been seeing how certain forces from north India are trying to tarnish the image of tall personalities from the southern region. Immediately, the magazine should tender an apology. It is not fair on its part to insult a fine Kannadiga technocrat like Narayana Murthy," he explained.

Which is anti-national? The persons who carry out anti-national activities are different. The Tukde-tukde gang is also different. But, insulting Narayana Murthy is untenable. "We carry tremendous respect towards him. The magazine should tender a public apology. Otherwise, we will burn the copies of Panchajanya and effigies," he stated.

Sanneerappa B, State General Secretary for Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda faction) stated that they will stand with Infosys on the issue. If it continues, we know how to give a befitting answer, he underlined.

The humanitarian work taken up by Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy across the country and in Karnataka is unmatched. Even Bill Gates has not done so much human service in India. Through Infosys, Narayana Murthy has created lakhs of employment for Indians. They want to damage the brand Infosys and assassinate the character of Murthy, he said.

Infosys has been involved in hundreds of central as well as state government projects. Whenever, there is a cyclone in Gujarat, floods and be it a Metro Project, Infosys has come forward to put in crores of rupees. "Why Japanese, US-based or MNCs from other countries do not come forward to support the people. Instead of encouraging Indian businessmen, industrialists from across the globe to create jobs in India, the magazine is indulging in falsely targeting Narayana Murthy," he stated.

"We want to assure Infosys and Narayana Murthy not to get worried over these fake threats. Write-ups like this can't do anything. You have created jobs for all Indians belonging to different faiths. Even if a hundred similar attempts are made, they can't hurt you and we will fight against it," he explained.

TV Mohandas Pai, current Chairman of Manipal Global Education and former director of Infosys, said the author of the article that appeared in Panchajanya is 'a crazy fellow'.

"This is a crazy fellow. I don't know who the writer is, I don't know what his name is. He must be demented for having made such comments. That's why people must write to the editor and tell him to withdraw the article." the Padma Shri awardee said.

Asked if there is any agenda behind the write-up, he maintained, "I don't think there is an agenda for it. I just think they are crazy writers who want to prove that they are more nationalist than anyone else," he added.

He further said, it's wrong for the Panchjanya to launch such an attack on Narayana Murthy. "I am in touch with him and I know he is very hurt. Because you can always be critical but not abusive like this. Tukde-tukde gang has not done anything for the country, but this man Murthy is from different background," he explained.

Dr BP Maheshchandra Guru, a retired professor and progressive thinker, said Narayana Murthy has contributed immensely towards industrial development. "His name was in the forefront for the post of President. "When it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities we look up to Azim Premzi of Wipro and Infosys. Infosys is a reputed institute and they are also service conscious. Till date, Infosys has not been involved in a single scandal. They have built thousands of homes for earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters, he said.

The people with false and fake nationalism are indulging in extorting industrialists, reputed personalities and leaders. If they are so bothered about the country, let them work in slums, let them come to civic workers, Dalits and empower them with skills and help them to live in dignity. "I condemn the article on Infosys," he stated.

The Bengaluru-based software major had hit the headlines recently after the new income tax portal they developed faced glitches and remained unavailable for several days since its launch on June 7, 2021.

Inability to generate OTP for Aadhaar validation, password generation glitches, failure to link old data for past returns, and problems in filing returns were some of the many complaints raised by users.

Subsequently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had summoned Infosys MD & CEO Salik Parekh to explain the reasons for the continued glitches even after two months passed since the official launch.

The Infosys head had maintained that efforts are on to resolve what remains of the existing glitches. Meanwhile, the Income Tax department had to allow the manual filing of remittance forms.

It has also extended the due dates for electronic filing related to intimation by pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Infosys was awarded the contract to develop the income tax filing system in 2019 to reduce the processing time for returns from 63 days to one day and to expedite refunds. Until June 2021, the government had paid Rs 164.5 crore to Infosys.

The company had regularly been appointed by the Centre, state governments, and agencies for several flagship IT projects in the past. 

Their work on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal and Goods and Services Tax network too suffered performance issues.

(With inputs from PTI)