Narayana Murthy, founder Infosys and now Chairman Emeritus, today clarified that no funds have ever been donated to Public Cause Research Foundation led by Arvind Kejriwal for any political party or its activities.
In a statement he said, “Arvind Kejriwal approached me in 2008 to donate money to raise awareness about the Right To Information (RTI) act by instituting awards to recognise the contribution of public information officers, public information commissioners, NGOs and citizens. I agreed to give Rs 25 lakh a year for five years and requested Tatas to contribute an equal sum, which the Tata Social Welfare Trust was kind enough to agree," he said.
"I sent Rs 25 lakh for the years for 2008 and 2009 and Rs 37 lakh for 2010 (the additional funds of Rs 12 lakh were required for giving extra awards, for honoring the families of RTI activists who were murdered, and the travel costs of the honorees) and Rs 25 lakh for the year 2011. However, Kejriwal wrote to me in May 2011 that the secretariat of the Foundation was busy in drafting a Jan Lokpal Bill and that they would not be able to have the awards in 2011. He also asked me whether it was ok to use this amount of Rs 25 lakh towards the secretarial expenses of the Jan Lokpal Bill effort. As one who believed that the country needed a moderate but effective Lokpal Bill, I agreed to his request,” Murthy said.
He further clarified, “However, when Kejriwal approached me in September 2012 asking for financial assistance, I declined. Hence, I have not financially supported Kejriwal’s political activities.”
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