The BJP's ideological mentor RSS has distanced itself from a piece published in its mouthpiece Panchjanya that questioned whether an "anti-national" conspiracy could be behind glitches on India's tax-filing websites handled by information technology giant Infosys Ltd.
In the latest edition of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) mouthpiece, a four-page cover story on the Bengaluru-based firm founded by Narayana Murthy asked whether "anti-national power is trying to hurt India's economic interests through it".
Today, RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar tweeted that the views expressed in the piece are not of the organisation's but of the author's.
"As an Indian company, Infosys has a significant contribution in the progress of India. There may be some issues regarding the portal operated by Infosys, but the article published in this context in Panchjanya are the personal views of the author and are not the views of Panchjanya," Mr Ambekar said.
"Therefore, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should not be linked with the views expressed in the article," he said.
भारतीय कंपनी के नाते इंफोसिस का भारत की उन्नति में महत्वपूर्ण योगदान है।इंफोसिस संचालित पोर्टल को लेकर कुछ मुद्दे हो सकते हैं परंतु पान्चजन्य में इस संदर्भ में प्रकाशित लेख,लेखक के अपने व्यक्तिगत विचार हैं,तथा पांचजन्य संघ का मुखपत्र नहीं है।@editorvskbharat
— Sunil Ambekar (@SunilAmbekarM) September 5, 2021Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh expressed "deep disappointment" over persistent glitches in the new Income Tax portal set up by the company and gave him till September 15 to resolve all issues.
The "summons" was announced after the portal was shut for two days in a row. The Finance Minister had underlined the concerns of the government and taxpayers about continuing glitches even two-and-a-half-month after the website's launch - which, the minister pointed out, was also delayed. Ms Sitharaman asked for an explanation from Infosys for the "repeated issues" faced by taxpayers.
The article in Panchjanya said due to glitches in both the goods and services tax (GST) and income tax return websites developed by Infosys, "taxpayers' trust in the country's economy has taken a hit. Is it that anti-national forces via Infosys are trying to hurt India's economic interests?"
AdvertisementThe article said it does not, however, have evidence to support its questions, but alleged Infosys has been accused in the past of helping "Naxalites, leftists and tukde-tukde gangs", news agency PTI reported.
Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar said Infosys is a big firm and it is handling critical projects of the government because of its credibility. "The glitches in these tax portals are of national concern and those who are responsible for them should be held accountable," Mr Shankar said, PTI reported.
