Seshasayee, ex-board members slam Narayana Murthy's statements

In a fresh turn of events in the Infosys saga, the former board members of IT behemoth have lashed out at company’s co-founder N R Narayana Murthy.

In a joint statement, on Friday, company’s former chairman R Seshasayee, former directors John Etchemendy and Jeffrey Lehman called the attack by Murthy on Seshasayee as unfortunate.

“Murthy's statement to the investors misleadingly attributes words to me that are taken completely out of context, making it appear that I was not stating the truth. I wish to categorically state that I have always been candid and truthful in all my statements concerning Infosys,” Seshasayee said.

Former chairman of IT bellwether called Murthy’s allegations as personal attacks and “false and slanderous” in nature. “Murthy's statement to the investors reported by the Press, however, forces me to issue this statement, which is done only to defend myself against personal attacks and patently false and slanderous accusations,” he said, alleging that Murthy has forced him to come up with this statement after his resignation.

Murthy, on his part, has also called the attack on him by the company’s board on eve of former CEO and MD Vishal Sikka’s resignation as a personal attack.

He also pointed out that it was on Murthy’s behest he joined Infosys. “I would also like to point out that Murthy invited me to join the Board and entrusted to me the Chair of the Audit Committee, while he was still the Chairman. As late as February 2017, much after the alleged lapses took place, Murthy also issued a press statement that I was a man of high integrity. I am therefore at a loss to understand the motivations for this persistent vendetta against me," he added.

Defending Seshasayee, Etchemendy said that the former has never lied in his knowledge about Infosys. “I am fully conversant with the details of the Rajiv Bansal (company’s former CFO) issue and I can categorically state that at no point did Sesh say anything in public or, to the best of my knowledge, in private that was untrue or did not reflect the collective view of the Board,” he said.

Murthy, during his investors call, had reiterated the statement by the whistle-blower, wherein the anonymous whistle-blower had alleged that Seshasayee had lied about Bansal’s severance pay.

Lehman on his part stated, “For the good of Infosys, I wish Murthy would stop quoting those lies as if they were reputable. For the good of Infosys, I wish Murthy would stop defaming Seshasayee and the other members of the Board who have served with dedication and integrity, who have turned the other cheek when slandered, and who have acted only in the best interests of the company.”