Narayana Murthy helped Kejriwal get the right links

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It has emerged that Infosys mentor N.R. Narayan Murthy was the wind beneath the wings of activist Arvind Kejriwal.

It was Murthy who helped Kejriwal get access to corporate houses to fund his Right to Information Act campaign. A hint of this emerged from a press statement issued by the Tata Social Welfare Trust (TSWT) which stated that Murthy had recommended the cause of Kejriwal's RTI campaign.

Consequently it sanctioned Rs 1.25 crore for five years. After two years, the TSWT said, Kejriwal sought approval to use the funds for the Jan Lokpal Campaign, which was rejected by the Tata trust. Tatas refuse funds switch Tata Social Welfare Trust gave Rs 1.25 crore to Kejriwal's RTI campaign.

When he wanted to use the money for his Lokpal campaign, the trust refused permission The Public Cause and Research Foundation (PCRF) of Arvind Kejriwal returned the money taken from Tata Social Welfare Trust (TSWT).

Kejriwal, while speaking to this newspaper, conceded that Narayana Murthy had funded his campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill till last year.

However, it becomes evident that Kejriwal utilised Murthy's image and connections to get funds for his PCRF from 2008 to 2010, when no one would have funded him personally . There also appear to be hints from the statement of TSWT that Kejriwal did try to use the funds collected in the name of the RTI campaign for his subsequent campaign, which took a political turn this year.

However, Kejriwal denied using the name of Murthy to fund his political campaign. “First and foremost, Murthy was not helping Arvind Kejriwal. He was helping the national cause for strengthening the RTI, which in turn was the cause of the people of this country. Therefore, the argument is absolutely misplaced to say that he was helping me. This year I have not received anything from him.,” said Kejriwal.