Did Microsoft CEO just cancel his visit to India after his CAA comments?
Microsoft’s Indian American CEO Satya Nadella was scheduled to travel to India later this week. However, reports suggest he may have cancelled his trip following a sharp reaction to his comments on India’s new controversial citizenship law.
As India and Indians across the globe continue to debate the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) just enacted by the BJP led government in India, looks like the tech world too may be finally getting affected by the developments.
Even though, there is no official confirmation of Nadella postponing his planned visit to India, reports suggest his views on CAA and its reception may have prompted the Microsoft CEO to re-think his plans.
RELATED: Satya Nadella hopes one day an immigrant would lead multinational in India  (January 14, 2020)
It may be recalled that a few days ago Nadella became the first Indian American tech honcho to comment on the act.
“I think what is happening is sad… It’s just bad..,” Nadella was quoted as saying by Buzzfeed editor Ben Smith at a meeting with editors in New York.
“I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the next CEO of Infosys,” he added.
After the comment evoked a sharp reaction in India, Microsoft issued a more nuanced statement on his behalf.
“My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefiting Indian society & the economy at large,” Nadella said citing his own success story in America.
But looks like Nadella may have re-iterated his stand on CAA. In an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of World Economic Forum (WFE) at Davos he called the act “narrow.”
Nadella said: “Every country is rethinking what is in their national interest… governments should maintain that modicum of enlightenment and not think about it very narrowly.”
Nadella also told  Bloomberg, “People will only come when people know you’re an immigrant-friendly country.â€
On January 11, the Indian government notified CAA fast tracking Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who came to India before December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution in Islamic Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The new law offers Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from the three neighboring countries a path to Indian citizenship after six years stay instead of the usual 12 for others.
Cities across India have witnessed violent protests since CAA was passed by the Indian parliament on Dec 12 with opponents of the law saying it is violative of the secular Indian constitution as it discriminates against Muslims.
The Indian Supreme Court which is set to hear 60 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of CAA on January 22 has declined to stay its implementation.