BANGALORE: Both Houses of the legislature on Tuesday witnessed a heated debate over a statement reportedly made by Infosys Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy in Mysore on Sunday on the national anthem.

Some of the senior members labelled him "anti-national" and "anti-Kannadiga" and demanded his arrest.

Minister for Home M.P. Prakash said that if Mr. Murthy had spoken against the national anthem, as reported in the media, then it deserved to be condemned.

The Government was awaiting a report from the Mysore police regarding it and appropriate action would be initiated thereafter, he said.

`Verify facts'

In the Legislative Assembly, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh urged the Government to verify the facts prior to taking any action. "However big a person be, he or she should respect the national anthem," he said.

The former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "It is the duty of every Indian to respect the national anthem and national symbols. He now believes he is `sarvagna'.

He amassed wealth because the Government gave land, skilled manpower and tax concessions. And now, he is offering unsolicited advice to politicians, including the criticism that he made against the protests against the Cauvery tribunal verdict."

The subject was raised by Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj who labelled Mr. Murthy "anti-national."

The Central Bureau of Investigation should investigate the case. He should be arrested and externed from the State, he said.

The others who spoke included K. Jayaprakash Hegde (independent) and J.C. Madhuswamy of Janata Dal (United).

In the Legislative Council, some ruling and Opposition party members exchanged heated words over Mr. Murthy's statement.

Some members said that Mr. Murthy, who had got many benefits, including land, from the State, was now speaking against the interests of Karnataka. They demanded a separate discussion on the issue.

Meanwhile, Mr. Murthy has apologised for hurting the sentiments of the people over his statement on singing of the national anthem during President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's visit to the Infosys campus in Mysore.

"If the media statement has hurt anybody's sentiments, I deeply apologise," Mr. Murthy said in a clarification issued by Infosys on Tuesday.

"We played the instrumental version of the national anthem so that we could all sing along, and all of us did so. We wished to share the pride of being an Indian in the gracious presence of our President. We are informed that this is as per protocol," Mr. Murthy said.

"We have always kept the interests of the country foremost in our minds and our work speaks for itself. We are a proud Indian company, with strong universal ethos of transparency, accountability and honesty. It has always been our endeavour to represent India with the highest standards of respect and enable it to take its rightful place in the world economy", he added.

Cauvery issue

On his reported statements on the Cauvery issue, Mr. Murthy said all the facilities of Infosys in the State remained closed on February 12 when a Statewide bandh was observed against the verdict of the Cauvery tribunal.

"A large part of the IT industry, including our offices, worked on a subsequent Saturday (February 24) to compensate for the loss of a working day and to honour our commitments to our customers," Mr. Murthy said in the clarification.

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