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Narayana Murthy resigns as BIAL Chairman

Special Correspondent

Decision follows remarks made by H.D. Deve Gowda

Bangalore: Infosys chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy on Thursday resigned as Chairman of Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) following remarks made by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda questioning his contribution to the idea of the greenfield airport coming up at Devanahalli, near here.

"I wish he [Mr. Deve Gowda] had asked me personally before going to the press or talking to you or ascertained it from the members of the Board of BIAL. I am disappointed that a former Prime Minister did not accord me this basic courtesy," he said in a letter to Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh on Thursday.

Responding to a statement made by Mr. Deve Gowda on his alleged lack of contribution to BIAL, Mr. Murthy said in his letter: "I am pained, more so that leaders in the Government like you did not even clarify my role in the company and the work that has been done. I have spent an enormous amount of time and energy interacting with the Government in New Delhi and the Government here to make this work. The records prove this."

Thanking the Chief Minister for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the State, Mr. Murthy said that effective Thursday he was resigning from BIAL chairmanship.

Last week, Mr. Deve Gowda said in a letter to Mr. Dharam Singh: "Mr. Narayana Murthy has been BIAL Chairman for five years. Why did it take him so long to get it moving? Mr. Murthy is a world traveller. He should be able to come up with a plan to decongest traffic in Bangalore."

After a meeting with Mr. Murthy last week, Mr. Deve Gowda accused some quarters in the information technology (IT) industry of making a concerted effort to destabilise the coalition Government in the State.

Mr. Deve Gowda criticised Mr. Murthy's suggestion to shift focus to urban governance and said the views of elite did not tally with reality. He questioned Mr. Murthy's knowledge of rural life.

Mr. Dharam Singh has said he is confident that Mr. Murthy can be persuaded to reconsider his decision.

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