Sudha Murty RS nomination: In ’21, RSS-linked magazine said her foundation backs tukde tukde gang

Flagging some news portals which had received funding from the Infosys Foundation, then chaired by Sudha Murty, the magazine had accused the Murtys of funding “misinformation websites”. These websites were seen as being critical of the government and the Sangh.

“Some organisations that spread caste hatred are also beneficiaries of Infosys’s charity. Shouldn’t Infosys promoters be asked what is the reason for the company’s funding of anti-national and anarchist organisations? Should companies of such suspect character be allowed to participate in government tendering process?” the report had said.

Sudha Murty retired as chairperson of Infosys Foundation on December 31, 2021, just three months after the article was published.

An email sent to Infosys Foundation for a response on Friday did not elicit any response. A Panchjanya spokesperson also refused to comment on the matter.

Suggesting a conspiracy by the Opposition, the 2021 report had said: “One of the promoters of Infosys is Nandan Nilekani who has contested Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. Company’s founder N R Narayana Murthy’s opposition to the incumbent government’s ideology is not hidden from anyone. Infosys appoints people subscribing to a certain ideology on important posts. Most of these are Marxists from Bengal. If such a company gets important government tenders, wouldn’t there be a threat of influence from China and the (Pakistan spy agency) ISI?”

It also raised suspicion that glitches in projects contracted to Infosys may be a ploy by the Opposition to ensure that the government is forced to change its policy of giving contracts to Indian companies. This, it said, would hurt the idea of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

However, following a furore over the report, the RSS had later sought to distance itself. “As an Indian company, Infosys has made seminal contribution in progress of the country. There might be certain issues with a portal run by Infosys, but the article published by Panchjanya in this context only reflects individual opinion of the author,” RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar had said. “Panchjanya is not a mouthpiece of the RSS and the said article or opinions expressed in it should not be linked with the RSS,” he had added.