Bangalore: Infosys leader N R Narayana Murthy has apologised for his comment on the national anthem, but for the Karnataka government the matter has not ended.
The government on Friday said Murthy’s statement was an “unpardonable offence”. What was Murthy’s offence? During a function at Infosys’ Mysore Global Training campus on April 8, Murthy asked that an instrumental version of the national anthem be played so that foreign guests who didn’t know the words are not “embarrassed”.
The Chief Mentor of Insoys has been under attack since then. "It is an unpardonable offence. There is no need for Murthy to make a statement that instrumental version of the national anthem had to be played to avoid embarrassment to foreigners in his Mysore Global Training campus," State Home Minister M P Prakash told the State Assembly on Friday.
The Mysore City police, on the basis of a lawyer’s complaint, have registered a case against Murthy under the Insult to National Honour Act.
"The case, registered as a non-cognizable offence, is under investigation," Prakash said but clarified the national anthem was not “insulted” at the function, which was attended by President A P J Abdul Kalam.
"There was no need for Murthy to make such a comment," said Prakash. "There are a lot of firms which employ foreigners in the city and also in the country. Everyone should understand his limitations and should not exceed it."
MLA Vatal Nagaraj (Vatal Paksha), who had demanded a government statement, said Murthy should be deported from Karnataka and Infosys wound up. "We don't need such companies," Nagaraj was quoted by PTI as saying.
Infosys, India's second-largest software services exporter, reported a 70 per cent rise in net profit for the January-March quarter from a year earlier.
Nasdaq-listed Infosys, which develops applications, designs supply chains and offers back-office services, said January-March consolidated net profit rose to Rs 1,124 crore as compared to Rs 664 crore for the year-ago period.
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