Gowda surprises by taking on Infosys

Old feud with Krishna may be the cause

The political temperature in the state rose several degrees as former chief minister and present Maharashtra governor S M Krishna walked into a storm during a two day visit to Bangalore which did not include any official engagements.

The storm, as if timed for Krishna's visit, was stirred up last evening by the person who sees him as his arch rival, former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) president H D Deve Gowda.

On Sunday Gowda raised eyebrows by publicly taking on local icon Infosys Technologies. He objected to the procedures being followed in allotting land to IT firms in and around Bangalore and made public a letter he wrote to Dharam Singh on October 11, seeking details on the extent of land allotted to leading IT firms in India's Silicon Valley and Infosys in particular.

Speculation is rife as to why Gowda has publicly taken on a company like Infosys, which is a local as well as a national recognised institution. Infosys, which has nearly Rs 3,700 crore in cash and is highly focused, hardly needs to speculate in land or real estate.

One school of thought is that the provocation is the continuing criticism of the city's infrastructure by the IT sector. Gowda resents this as also the status Murthy enjoyed during the Krishna regime.

This follows Gowda's participation at a meeting on Saturday with Infosys chairman N R Narayana Murthy and chief minister N Dharam Singh at which Murthy spelt out the imperatives for reforms in urban governance.

Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh today said he would "examine" the letter of JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda who has accused "some quarters" in the IT sector of making concerted efforts to destabilise the Congress-JD(S) government and misusing lands for real estate purposes.

"I am going to examine the letter. He is our coalition partner and JD(S) president. When he has written a letter, it is my duty to look into it," Singh told reporters at Bangalore airport after monitoring the despatch of first consignment of relief materials sent by Karnataka government for the earthquake-hit victims in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked if differences in perception towards the IT sector between Congress and JD(S) would have an impact on the state's coalition government, he said it would not. "There will be no impact on the government."

Infosys Technologies Ltd has declined to comment on the allegations made by Gowda.

"Since our chairman N R Narayana Murthy is travelling abroad presently, we will not be able to comment on the contents of Gowda's letter now. Murthy will respond with data on his return".

Gowda, who singled out Infosys, said while the IT behemoth had managed to secure huge amounts of government lands in Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore, other IT firms like Wipro, Intel, Accenture, IBM, HP and Honeywell were functioning from rented premises, generating more employment than the former (Infosys).

He has cautioned the state government on allotting further land (845 acres) which Infosys has sought on the outskirts of Bangalore for setting up its new software development centres and a residential township for its employees, as such indiscriminate allottment would only draw public criticism and discredit the Congress-JD-(S) coalition government.

According to Gowda, Infosys had acquired 78 acres in Bangalore, 350 acres in Mysore and 311 acres in Mangalore over the years. However, he said he has nothing against the IT industry per se.

Regretting that various zoning rules in and around the hi-tech city were being relaxed to allot land to IT firms, Gowda said the final approval of the BMRDA master plan was delayed to accommodate the request of Infosys and other IT firms for additional land allotment.