CAA is 'Sad' and 'Bad', Says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

California, January 14, 2019:

The Citizenship Amendment Act (or CAA) is both "bad" and "sad", feels Microsoft's Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella, who has finally broken his silence on the contentious legislation.

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Nadella, while talking to Ben Smith, who is the Editor-in-Chief of the wildly popular web portal Buzzfeed News, said, "I think what is happening is sad... It's just bad.... 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."

This was first posted by Smith on his Twitter account, and initially it was ambiguous as to what it meant as the CAA seeks to grant asylum to six religious minorities from three neighboring countries -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

After Nadella's statement sparked an outcry, Microsoft issued a far subtler statement on the contentious Act, that conveyed the CEO's optimism for an immigrant in India who could benefit the society and economy.

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Nadella's statement said, "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the US. 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 and the economy at large."

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