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Infosys chief Murthy quits Bangalore airport project

     Bangalore: Chief Mentor and Chairman of Infosys Technology, N R Narayana Murthy resigned from the post of chairman of the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) on Friday following former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's criticism of his role in the project. "The media reports of October 17, 2005 refer to your coalition partner, Mr. Deve Gowda, speaking to the press about lack of my contribution to BIAL during the last five years," Murthy said in his resignation letter to Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh. Gowda had earlier written a letter to Singh questioning why it took Narayana Murthy so long to get the airport project moving. "Murthy is a world traveller. He should be able to come up with a plan to decongest Bangalore's traffic," he had said. "I wish he (Gowda) had asked me personally before going to the press, or talked to you or ascertained it from members of the (BIAL) board. I am disappointed that a former Prime Minister did not accord me this basic courtesy," said Murthy. He also expressed disappointment over the state government not coming to his defence. "I am pained, more so, that leaders in the government like you did not even clarify my role in the company and the work that has been done," Murthy said in his letter to the Chief Minister. "I have spent an enormous amount of time and energy in interacting with the government in New Delhi and the government here to make this work. The records prove themselves," he said.
-Oct 20,  2005

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