Guilty or not guilty?

Guilty or not guilty? Here are some reactions from some of the people who spoke to TWB about Narayana Murthy's remarks on the national anthem:

"The law on the issue of showing disrespect to the national anthem is clear. The Act on the prevention of singing of the National Anthem says: "Whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian National Anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both." Narayana Murthy has always had an arrogant streak in him… Sometime ago, he wanted to even leave India and settle down in China. He has made his wealth, fame and power by harnessing the brain and knowledge power of his fellow Indians. But this is not about his status and achievements as a business entity.

Anyone showing disrespect to the national anthem, national flag, should be severely punished. In Pakistan, an individual doing something like this would be hanged. An apology will not suffice for such behaviour." - B.N. Vijayakumar, Bangalore City President, BJP.

"After Kalam who? Narayana Murthy, the media answered, and we are now faced with a piquant situation where the Great Next Hope, the man who passionately believes in creating and distributing wealth, has not shown regard for the national anthem!

Dr Abdul Kalam never desired to be President, and today has proved to be one of the best ever President India had, probably after Dr Radhakrishnan. One suspects that Narayana Murthy desires to be the next President. The time has now come to ask: Do we deserve him?

In my book, wealth creation is far less important than respect and regard for the country and its symbols. " - Prasad, Businessman.

"As a software engineer, I greatly revere Narayana Murthy for his simplicity, hard working nature and his widely known achievements in the national and international arena, in IT industry. But I am sorry to say that I feel let down by his lack of patriotism. And I would certainly not support his candidature for the Presidency.
"To be President, the first and foremost quality a person should have is a love for the country, which Narayana Murthy, by his attitude to the singing of the national anthem, has betrayed." - Anand Sukumar, Software engineer.

"Till the other day, we anointed him as the best presidential candidate. Now, Narayana Murthy has turned to become the most hated figure, an anti-national! I think we should take the emotion out of the issue and differentiate between nationalism and fundamentalism.

The cardinal sin Murthy made in his observations on the singing of the national anthem was the inappropriate use of terms, while justifying it. My sympathies are with him." - Patrick, lecturer.

"What NRNM did cannot be justified, but at the same time we should not politicize the issue, after he apologized for the mistake he committed. A lot of people get away with much more heinous crimes like murder, injustice to people, corruption, looting, etc. All these gentlemen are pardoned or let off with minimum penalty.

The worst culprits of such crimes are politicians. What moral right do such people have to ask for giving the highest punishment to a decent man like Narayana Murthy? In sensitive issues like this, we should learn to be more discreet." - Lalitha Sairam, Housewife.