Murthy said the decision of choosing the best candidate should be left to leaders of political parities.
Refusing to be drawn into the debate over presidential candidature, Infosys mentor NR Narayana Murthy on Monday said the decision of choosing the best candidate should be left to leaders of political parities.
"There are leaders of various political parties who are very competent, who know the situation very well and they will take the best decision and select the best candidate.
"Therefore, I do not think any of us, amateurs, should be spending time on who will be the candidate, who should not be the candidate. Therefore, let us leave it to the people who have the prerogative to take the decision. I am positive that they will take the right decision. It is not for me to comment on that," Murthy told reporters at the sidelines of the convocation of Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Hyderabad (JNTUH).
The software icon was replying to a media query on the Presidential election.
Asked if he would accept to be a candidate if an offer is made to him, Murthy said, "I think these are not right questions. Let us all keep quiet and let us leave it to experts in this and let them decide. Who I am to make any comment?"
The Infosys founder's name had figured among the possible apolitical candidates for the Presidential election.
Earlier, the JNTUH conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (honoris causa) to Murthy.
Earlier in his convocation address, Murthy hailed the giant strides made by the country on various fronts but rued that lakhs of Indians are still mired in poverty, illiteracy, ill-health and malnutrition.
"Never before did the world think India had something to contribute to the global community other than spices. Our economy is growing at more than seven per cent for the last three years, highest since 1947. India has become the software development centre of the world. Our foreign exchange reserves are around 300 billion USD," he said.
"However, we have another India steeped in poverty, illiteracy, ill-health and malnutrition and without hope and confidence in the future, for no fault of hers."
He maintained that corruption in political system often kills the enthusiasm of bright youngsters.
"We have created a political system with incentives for most of our politicians with notable exceptions to keep our people poor, illiterate and helpless. We have consistently been among the lowly-ranked nations in the human development index. Not surprisingly, we rank high on corruption. Our record in primary and higher education is pathetic.
"I can go on and on. Worst of all, we have created an environment where bright, idealistic and confident youngsters who are ready to take on the world in their 20s become despondent, diffident, self-seeking and unhappy individuals by the time they reach 40," he said.
Murthy, however, said there is hope today for solving the problems which did not exist earlier.
"I have the hope that, 30 years from now, this country will have a set of 40-60 years olds who will be different from the current 60 and 65 year-olds like me. They will be full of confidence, hope and faith in the country."
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