Days after voicing concern over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has postponed his visit to India which was scheduled for later this week, stated report.
According to Firstpost, the Microsoft's India team is now waiting for fresh dates of Nadella's visit. Sources told the news portal that the visit is likely to happen at end of February or early March. During his visit to India, Microsoft CEO was expected to meet government officials and some executives of large companies and start-ups. A Microsoft India spokesperson told Firstpost, "We have nothing to share at this point."
The change of plan came days after Satya Nadella voiced concern over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying what is happening is "sad" and he would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant lead a multinational company in India that benefits its economy.
"I think what is happening is sad, primarily as sort of someone who grew up there, I feel, and in fact quite frankly, now being informed, shaped by the two amazing American things that I've observed which is both, it's technology reaching me where I was growing up and its immigration policy and even a story like mine being possible in a country like this," Nadella said.
He was speaking to editors at a Microsoft event when Nadella was asked by the New York-based news outlet BuzzFeed about his view on the CAA and if he has concerns about working with the Indian government in terms of how they were using data.
Later, when Nadella’s remark started making headlines, Microsoft issued a statement clarifying the remarks.
In a statement issued by Microsoft India, Nadella said: "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I'm shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large".
But the statements did not go down well with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). BJP MP Meenakashi Lekhi hit out at Nadella and said it is the "perfect example" of how the literate need to be educated.
"How literate need to be educated! Perfect example," Lekhi said on Twitter in response, and also posted Nadella's statement issued by Microsoft India. "Precise reason for CAA is to grant opportunities to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan & Afghanistan. How about granting these opportunities to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in USA?" she went on to say.
The Centre has issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA has come into effect from January 10, 2020. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11. According to the legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 due to religious persecution will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
