‘Infosys interfering in state politics’

‘‘Did we ask him to resign? Did anyone ask him to resign? Was there anything in my October 11 letter saying he should resign?’’ Gowda said. The letter had mentioned that the Infosys chief had done little for the project.

Gowda claimed that at a meeting on October 15, attended by CM Dharam Singh and senior state bureaucrats for a presentation on urban rural partnership, he had only told Murthy that they should work together. ‘‘I told him we must work together in coordination. I cannot understand where I have hurt him,’’ he said.

Instead, the JD(S) chief said Murthy had called him a ‘‘stumbling block’’ in Bangalore’s development in an interview six months ago. ‘‘This attack was only intended to destablise the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. If there is a genuine problem about insufficient infrastructure facility they could have approached the government,’’ he said.

‘‘IT companies like Wipro, TCS and IBM will not interfere in the politics of the state. There are several IT companies that just do their work quietly in Bangalore, unlike some officials in Infosys,’’ Gowda said. In a veiled reference to Krishna, he added: ‘‘One IT captain is being used to attack the coalition government. By using Narayana Murthy’s name and fame, if some people want to destablise this government, it is a futile exercise.’’

Arguing that he was not opposed to land allotments to IT companies like Infosys, as suggested by his October 11 letter to Dharam Singh — seeking a probe into indiscriminate land allotment, Gowda said: ‘‘We are not opposed to giving agricultural land to the IT industry but let them use it for the purpose it is granted – for creating employment,’’ Gowda said. The recent Infosys request for 845 acres of land, he hinted, is primarily to create a township while the software centre proposed on the land is ‘‘only an addition’’. ‘‘It is the poor farmer’s land that is being provided. How many of those who lose their land will get jobs in Infosys – a knowledge company. Do they want farmers to become beggars?’’ Gowda said.

He alleged that instead of employment, Infosys was creating a five-star hotel on its Bangalore campus.

Gowda also questioned the silence of the President and the Prime Minister over S.M. Krishna’s indulgence in political affairs in Karnataka while being the governor of Maharashtra. ‘‘A governor has to follow some protocol. Over the past six months, the Maharashtra governor has been issuing certificates of appreciation to the Maharashtra coalition,criticising the Karnataka coalition, commenting on projects in Karnataka. Is it not constitutional impropriety? I will wait for her (Sonia Gandhi’s) word on the Maharashra Governor’s activities,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Dharam Singh told reporters that he had established contact with Narayana Murthy, who is in the US, and asked him to reconsider his resignation. He would continue to contact Murthy over the next few days, Singh added.