On Friday, March 8, President Droupadi Murmu proposed Infosys chairperson and entrepreneur Sudha Murthy for the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament position.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his consent at the nomination, stating that it was a reflection of the BJP party’s Nari Shakti initiative for women’s empowerment.
PM Modi wrote, “I am delighted that the President of India has nominated Sudha Murty Ji to the Rajya Sabha. Sudha Ji’s contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring. Her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to our ‘Nari Shakti’, exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation’s destiny. Wishing her a fruitful Parliamentary tenure.”
The esteemed Padma Shri was given to Sudha Murty in 2006, and the Padma Bhushan in 2023. In addition, she was honoured with the RK Narayan Award for Literature in 2011, the Karnataka government’s ‘Attimabbe Award’ for outstanding Kannada literature in 2011, and the Crossword Book Awards’ Lifetime Achievement award in 2018.
Her engineering degree was obtained from BVB College of Engineering. She was born in Shiggaon, in the Haveri district of Karnataka.
Murthy however, courted controversy on several occasions recently due to her remarks. Sudha Murthy expressed her fear that a single spoon would be used for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in a YouTube video. Some thought her statement was casteist because ‘pure vegetarianism’ is sometimes linked to Brahminism, but others said that one’s food preferences and habits shouldn’t be influenced.
