Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s statement that "CAA is just bad for India" has not gone down well with the BJP, and party MP Meenakshi Lekhi trained guns at the corporate biggie on Tuesday.
Calling it a "perfect example" of "How literate need to be educated", Lekhi tweeted: "Precise reason for CAA to grant opportunities to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
How literate need to be educated ! Perfect example. Precise reason for CAA is to grant opportunities to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan & Afghanistan.
— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) January 14, 2020
How about granting these opportunities to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in USA ? pic.twitter.com/eTm0EQ1O25
"How about granting these opportunities to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in USA?"
This outburst came after on Monday, the Microsoft CEO spoke out against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and was quoted as saying: "I think what is happening is sad...It's just bad...I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or become the next CEO of Infosys."
Though Microsoft promptly tried to make amends and issued a fresh statement by Nadella, and said, "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds."
"I'm shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to find a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large." But the damage was done.
Lekhi's analogy of providing "opportunities" to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in the US was intended to highlight that the victims have been the religious minorities facing persecution, who are being given priority through the CAA.