Murthy’s remarks continue to stoke political furore

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy’s comments at the tech summit on freebies 'without returns,' continued to elicit strong reactions from the state government and the Opposition on Friday.

Murthy had said that while he was not against the government doling out free goods and services, he would like to see them contribute something in return, giving the example of free power being answered with a 20 per cent bump in enrolment in government schools.

He appeared to be speaking about the Congress’ five guarantees, one of which is free electricity for consumers. Shivakumar defended the guarantees by saying that it was essential for the State government to aid the poor.

“His (Murthy’s) suggestions are part of people’s development. It is eventually the government's decision. It is the government's responsibility to address issues faced by farmers and the poor class in view of rising prices,” he told mediapersons.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition (LOP) R Ashoka said that he interpreted Murthy’s comments as being similar to the saying “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

“He (Murthy) is an IT giant. He has contributed immensely to Karnataka. You (state gover nment) have stopped building schools, hospitals, roads, besides curbing stipends for students,” he said.