Published 23:14 IST, January 13th 2020
Satya Nadella expresses dismay over CAA; sparks off heated debate on social media
In his first reaction on the Citizenship Amendment Act, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday expressed his dismay over the passage of the legislation.
In an interaction with editors in Manhattan on Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gave his first reaction on the Citizenship Amendment Act. Talking to a foreign publication, he expressed his dismay over the passage of the new legislation. Nadella added that he would love to see an immigrant from Bangladesh come to India and become the CEO of a leading company. This view sparked off a massive debate on social media with some people contending that he had misunderstood the provisions of the CAA.
The debate over CAA
On one hand, historian Ramchandra Guha lauded Nadella for speaking his mind. He called upon leading IT giants in India to follow suit. The Microsoft CEO, however, came in for some intense scrutiny from journalist Kanchan Gupta and lawyer Kartikeya Tanna. The former clarified that the Act was meant only to expedite the citizenship procedure for persecuted minorities. Meanwhile, Tanna reminded Nadella of the Lautenberg Amendment, a law in the US that gave preference to religious minorities in the Soviet Union and Iran.
A consistent proponent of liberal immigration policy
The Hyderabad-born Nadella has always been a proponent of pro-immigration policies in the US. For instance, he had released a detailed critique of the policy pursued by the Donald Trump administration in June 2018. Vehemently disagreeing with separating immigrant children from their families, he described how the US had gained as a result of its liberal immigration policy in the past. In the statement, he cited his own example to buttress his point.
Updated 23:14 IST, January 13th 2020