NRN quits BIAL over Deve Gowda's remarks

What's BIAL?

BIAL: Bangalore International Airport Limited, according to the Deccan Herald- The Bangalore International Airport Limited board, which comprises 14 members – two representing the Centre, three representing the State and nine representing private promoters – has been periodically analysing the progress of the airport work.

Also from the Herald
*Mr Murthy was in January, 2001 chosen to head the special purpose vehicle BIAL, with BPL Innovision Chairman & CEO Mr Rajeev Chandrashekhar named one of its three directors. Mr B K Das, then Principal Secretary — Infrastructure Development was named the third director.

* Even before his appointment as BIAL Chairman, Mr Murthy, in his role as Chairman of the Karnataka IT Task Force, had been calling for direct air connectivity between major international airlines and Bangalore.

* In December, 2003 BIAL Chief Executive Officer Mr Albert Brunner had on record lauded Mr Murthy’s efforts in the project’s progress.

* When the new State Government in 2004 decided to review approvals to the project by the previous S M Krishna Government, it was Mr Murthy who wrote to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, apprising him of the situation. The PM later sought a project report and asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to intervene.

Who's NRN and what's he got to do with BIAL?
Well... stupid question, but here's an external (fairly unbiased) look at the whole controversy, from FT UK

Why is there a controversy in the first place?
I think the Indian Express coverage sums it up nicely. I suppose this part really hurt:
Criticised for hindering infrastructure development in Bangalore, by the IT sector in particular, Gowda lashed out at Infosys: ‘‘Narayana Murthy has been Bangalore International Airport Limited chairman for five years. Why did it take him so long to get it moving? Murthy is a world traveller. He should be able to come up with a plan to decongest Bangalore’s traffic.’’

What's Infosys dong about the "land-grabbing" accusations?
Not too much, as it turns out. The landgrabbing accusation's taken a backseat to this BIAL thingie, at least for now.

Not that it has, but why would Infosys need to "grab" land in the first place?
Ahh...well. Land in Bangalore is at a premium thanks to the IT and BPO boom in the past decade or so. Unlike certain other companies which operate out of rented premises/ scattered locations in the city, Infosys has pursued a policy of large, US-university-style campuses not just in Bangalore, but across the country (talks are on to set up a 10,000 seater in Kolkata; and apparently 350+ acres have been procured in Mahindra City, Chennai as well; Trivandrum in Kerala is another proposed biggie). The current facilty in Bangalore started off as a single redbrick building in 1993 and has expanded to a beautifully landscaped, 70-acre campus that houses close to 15,000 employees across 40+ buildings today. Obviously, with 46,000 employees today and growing, the company needs more space to expand.

How has the world reacted to NRN's resignation from BIAL?
Predictably- with shock and indignation. Or, in the CM's case, with his usual unshakeable calm.

When reporters sought his reaction, Mr Singh said he had received the resignation letter on Thursday afternoon.

“I will contact him immediately and learn his reasons,” he said and added that certain issues should be “forgotten” while working for the overall welfare of the State. Stating that Mr Murthy’s contribution to IT in the State had been tremendous, he said, “I will convince him in this regard and solve the crisis in an amicable manner. I will even talk to Mr Deve Gowda, if need be.”

The chief minister denied that the crisis was the outcome of differences between the JD(S) and IT companies.

“The JD(S) is not against IT companies. In fact, Mr Gowda expressed satisfaction over the recent presentation on urban governance in the City. He had suggested that a team be sent to Rajasthan when it was told that a similar system was being implemented there.

It should not be interpreted as opposition,” he said.

On Mr Gowda’s letter regarding land allotment to IT companies, Mr Singh said the coalition government was answerable to the questions raised. “As the head of a coalition government, I may have to initiate an inquiry too,” he added. Meanwhile, the Deve Gowda camp remained cautious in its reaction to the development. When contacted, JD(S) spokesman Y S V Datta said Mr Gowda was yet to go through the contents of Mr Murthy’s letter and would react after that.

Industry Reactions
‘It’s shocking‘

BIAL Chief Executive Officer Albert Brunner expressed “shock and surprise” at the resignation of Mr Murthy.

Stating that it was a “great privilege” working with the Infosys chief, Mr Brunner said he would persuade him to withdraw the resignation. He confidence that the project would not be affected.

"It’s a really sad development. Mr Narayana Murthy had added a lot of value to the project. He played a major role in getting things forward, leading to the financial closure of the project. Now that the work on the airport is on the execution level, the project may not suffer per se. However, this is a situation which could have been avoided."
R K Misra, Vice President — Flextronics

"Mr Murthy has contributed a lot to the project. It’s unfortunate that he has to leave at this juncture. Though the airport has reached the execution level, the presence of a mature leader like him will still be missed. The ongoing tussle between industries and politicians is unfortunate."
C N Kumar, CEO — Advantage Solutions

"I’m disappointed at this turn of events. Having a person of his calibre in the team is always an asset. He has definitely been very influential in getting the project going. Animosity between the industries and politicians is not going to help Bangalore’s cause. What we should do is sit down and discuss issues across the table. That’s the only solution in sight."
Veera Raghavan, MD — Novell

There were a lot more (and better) reactions reported in today's Times of India, (which has been going about reporting this whole series of events with a sort of weirdly undiguised glee!), but I haven't managed to find them online yet.