Infosys founder and former top boss NR Narayana Murthy appears to be leaning closer to Aam Aadmi Party amid speculation that Arvind Kejriwal is keen to bring on board India's best-known name in information technology.
After V Balakrishnan, a former Infosys director, joined AAP and contested from Bengaluru last year, it appears that Kejriwal is keen to tap Murthy's expertise in various areas.
After V Balakrishnan, a former Infosys director, joined AAP and contested from Bengaluru last year, it appears that Kejriwal is keen to tap Murthy's expertise in various areas.
Murthy met AAP leaders Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia at the Delhi CM's office on Tuesday. While AAP's in-house IT guru Adarsh Shastri insisted that Murthy had only paid a courtesy call to the party's all-powerful duo, an official statement from the Delhi government said the three "discussed several issues of social relevance".
"I went to meet Arvind to introduce Akshaya Patra to him and his colleagues," Murthy told ET in an email. Akshaya Patra is an NGO working to implement the Supreme Court-mandated midday meal scheme in government schools.
Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty had helped to set up the Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation. Murthy did not go into details about the nature of the discussions he had with the AAP leaders about Akshaya Patra.
Sisodia, who is Delhi's education minister, is known to take personal interest in AAP's ongoing effort to improve Delhi's government-run schools and make them "better" than private schools. Improving the implementation of the midday meal scheme is also on the new administration's cards. Both Sisodia and Murthy were tight-lipped about the meeting.
Asked for his opinion about AAP and his possible engagement with the party-run Delhi government through Akshaya Patra or any other way, Murthy said, "There was nothing more or nothing less to our meeting."
A spokesperson for Akshaya Patra said Kejriwal had visited them in Bengaluru last month.
"We want to work in Delhi (with the government). Our plan is to reach 50 lakh children by 2020. So we are very much keen about reaching more cities. But after his visit or Mr Murthy's visit, nothing concrete has materialised yet," he said. The spokesperson added that Murthy serves as an adviser on the US unit of Akshaya Patra.
The Infosys Foundation, of which Sudha Murty is the chairperson, is the biggest donor to the NGO. ET had earlier reported the Delhi chief minister's strong inclination towards increasing the role of sector experts in governance. A few have been taken on board as chairpersons of task forces in the Delhi Dialogue Commission or have been sought as officers on special duty.
"I went to meet Arvind to introduce Akshaya Patra to him and his colleagues," Murthy told ET in an email. Akshaya Patra is an NGO working to implement the Supreme Court-mandated midday meal scheme in government schools.
Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty had helped to set up the Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation. Murthy did not go into details about the nature of the discussions he had with the AAP leaders about Akshaya Patra.
Sisodia, who is Delhi's education minister, is known to take personal interest in AAP's ongoing effort to improve Delhi's government-run schools and make them "better" than private schools. Improving the implementation of the midday meal scheme is also on the new administration's cards. Both Sisodia and Murthy were tight-lipped about the meeting.
Asked for his opinion about AAP and his possible engagement with the party-run Delhi government through Akshaya Patra or any other way, Murthy said, "There was nothing more or nothing less to our meeting."
A spokesperson for Akshaya Patra said Kejriwal had visited them in Bengaluru last month.
"We want to work in Delhi (with the government). Our plan is to reach 50 lakh children by 2020. So we are very much keen about reaching more cities. But after his visit or Mr Murthy's visit, nothing concrete has materialised yet," he said. The spokesperson added that Murthy serves as an adviser on the US unit of Akshaya Patra.
The Infosys Foundation, of which Sudha Murty is the chairperson, is the biggest donor to the NGO. ET had earlier reported the Delhi chief minister's strong inclination towards increasing the role of sector experts in governance. A few have been taken on board as chairpersons of task forces in the Delhi Dialogue Commission or have been sought as officers on special duty.
AAP sources tell ET that Kejriwal is interested in getting India's most prominent and respectable name in information technology on board. In what way exactly remains unclear, but both sides appear to be strongly inclined as of now.
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