Narayana Murthy says considerable fear in minds of minorities

New Delhi: Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy on Saturday expressed concerns that there is considerable fear in the minds of minority in India and wanted governments should bring back the sense of confidence in them.

"I am not a politician, I am not interested in politics, therefore, I don't want to comment on that but the reality today is that there is considerable fear in the minds of minority in India," he said.

He said there was also "considerable fear" in the minds of people of one region living in another region.

Citing the Shiv Sena campaign against the South Indians living in Mumbai in 1960s, he said, "Today there is a lot of that worry. I get lots of emails, I get a lot of people talking to me even though I stay at home because of my leg.

He told NDTV, "the first priority of this government, or for that matter any government, both at the Central level and the state level, is to bring back the confidence, the energy, the enthusiasm, the trust in the minds of every Indian that this is our country, I have all the rights here, I am very safe here and therefore I will work towards the betterment of India."

No country, the IT veteran said, has ever made steady economic progress unless "there is no distrust, there is no fear, unless the majority community doesn't oppress the minority community, doesn't want the minority community to do what it wants etc. Etc."

Participating in the programme, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said he agreed with Murthy but added that all citizens should be assured with statements by Prime Minister and senior leaders of the BJP and NDA as well as President Pranab Mukherjee that "constitutional rights are going to be protected, they are non-negotiable and inviolable."