I was asked by a govt official to not to talk about IT harassment, says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, founder of Biocon, said that a government official had called her recently and the official asked her not to talk about issues such as harassment by income tax officers.

According to a report in The Telegraph, Shaw said, “He just said that please don’t make such statements. Even Mohandas Pai should not. I am telling you as a friend.”

Harassment incidents by IT officials are being highlighted following the death of VG Siddhartha, owner of Café Coffee Day

Before his body was found, Siddhartha had written in a letter to his company’s board of directors that a former director general of income tax was harassing him.

Former Infosys Director, Mohandas Pai had told The Quint that Shaw had received such a call.

She said that the call by the government official was both as an advice and warning.

“Personally, I’ve never had any problems with the tax department. Nobody is muzzling anyone. Only you can decide on whether you want to speak out. If you are paying your taxes, why should you worry? Why is the corporate world so silent?”

Shaw tweeted, “If Indian Inc remains silent it is reflective of a form of crony capitalism!”

According to a report in The Telegraph, Pai said that a lot of business people get such calls. “Our laws need to change, as income tax officers now have the power to arrest anyone,” Pai said. “That kind of power leads to harassment.”

“This is the result of our politicians not talking to businessmen and going only by the view of officials,” Pai alleged.