Five times the Murthys rocked the internet with their statements

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has been in the eye of a storm following his statement that youths should work 70 hours a week. Social media is abuzz with reactions on how the Infy founder is totally out of touch with reality and how most youngsters are already spending more than 70 hours a week at work (part of it in commute to and fro work).This is not the first time, though, that the Murthys (spouse Sudha Murthy is a celeb in her own right and her books have long been hot favorite). Back in 2022, Narayana Murthy admitted he was wrong in not allowing children of founders to participate in the organisation. “I think I was depriving this organisation of legitimate talent. I think every individual should have the same opportunity as every other individual if he or she is considered the best person for the role,” Murthy said at the 40th anniversary of Infosys. It is pertinent to note here that Murthy’s son Rohan joined his father as an executive assistant at Chairman’s Office reporting to his father in 2013 and was elevated to the position of Vice President (subject to approval by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs) before stepping aside after the Senior Murthy left the company.

Murthy’s spouse Sudha, however, has been more in the limelight with her statements and actions being scrutinized by the social media every now and then. Sudha Murthy touching feet of controversial Hindutva figure Sambhaji aka Manohar Bhide caused furore as Bhide is known to make derogatory statements about national icons like Mahatma Gandhi. Sudha Murthy later clarified that she had no idea who the man was and she simply touched his feet because he was an elderly person. Bhide’s people, however, denied this and claimed that Murthy was informed Bhide wished to meet her and she knew him very well. Her appearance of stand up comedian Kapil Sharma’s show should have gone smooth. But that was not to be. Sudha Murthy claimed the immigration officer at the Heathrow airport in London refused to believe when she wrote her address in United Kingdom as 10, Downing Street (official residence of the UK Prime Minister). Murthys’ daughter Akshata is married to UK’s current PM Rishi Sunak. Sudha Murthy further claimed the officer thought she was joking because of her simple appearance. The netizens refused to buy the story on many counts: there’s no way UK’s security apparatus wouldn’t know the PM’s mother in law was coming to stay with him was one of them.

She had also claimed that it was her daughter who made it possible for Sunak to become the UK Prime Minister. Sunak’s ascension to the top post in the UK has been relatively quick but it was not clear how Akshata Murthy marrying him helped his chances. On the contrary, Sunak, as the Treasury Chancellor, had faced media scrutiny as the companies under Akshata had not paid taxes as per the norm in UK. Sudha Murthy’s another statement on foodie Kunal Vijaykar’s vlog caused even more controversy as the ‘pure vegetarian’ Sudha claimed she carried her own cutlery when she traveled. Many netizens claimed the comment reeked of casteism and that she was not as simple a person as was portrayed.