Exclusive: Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, postpones India visit (article withdrawn)

Editor’s note: In view of Microsoft’s strong denial that Nadella has put off his visit, we have reviewed the reporting that went into this story, and found lapses. The article is therefore withdrawn, with apologies.  Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, has postponed his trip to India, which sources said was scheduled later this week. One of the sources said that Microsoft’s India team is waiting for fresh dates of his visit, which might happen at the end of February or early March. “Things are not confirmed, yet,” one of the sources said. “We have nothing to share at this point,” said a Microsoft India spokesperson. [caption id=“attachment_7939131” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Image: Reuters[/caption] ​During the trip, Nadella was expected to meet some executives of large companies and startups as well as government officials, and also take part in a talk with app developers. A Microsoft spokesperson, however, said, “There was no trip planned for this week. We do not have dates to share at this point.” The change in plans comes just a week after Nadella’s comments on the Citizenship Act grabbed a lot of attention in India and globally. Commenting on a question asked by BuzzFeed on the Citizenship Amendment Act in India, at an Editors’ roundtable in the US, the Microsoft CEO had said , “I think what is happening is sad… I think it’s just bad, if anything I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India, or becomes the CEO of Infosys, that should be the aspiration….” Soon after the Nadella’s answer got plastered all over the internet and in newspapers, Microsoft had issued a statement from Nadella clarifying the remarks. “Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly,” he said, in a company statement. “And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds.”

Statement from Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft pic.twitter.com/lzsqAUHu3I

— Microsoft India and South Asia (@MicrosoftIndia) January 13, 2020

But, perhaps Nadella’s statements did not go down well with the Bharatiya Janta Party. Reacting to the statement, Meenakashi Lekhi, a BJP spokesperson, had  commented on Twitter, “How literate need to be educated! Perfect example. Precise reason for CAA is to grant opportunities to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan & Afghanistan. How about granting these opportunities to Syrian Muslims instead of Yezidis in USA?” The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament in December. According to the legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till 31 December, 2014, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. Protests have broken out against the CAA across the country, with those opposing the law contending that it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA along with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) is intended to target the Muslim community in India.