Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, congratulated his son-in-law Rishi Sunak after he was confirmed to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Murthy said that he was “proud” of what Sunak has achieved and expressed his confidence that he will “do his best” for the country.
“Congratulations to Rishi. We are proud of him, and we wish him success. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom,” Murthy told ANI on Monday.
Sunak got married to Murthy’s daughter Akshata after the couple met at Stanford University in the United States while pursuing their MBA. Akshata lived abroad for most of her life due to her studies and profession, and the couple got married at a traditional Indian wedding in Bengaluru.
The couple has two daughters – Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, 9.
Sunak and Akshata were stakeholders in Murthy’s company – Catamaran Ventures – but the incoming PM transferred his stakes to his wife in 2015. However, the controversies continue to haunt both due to the financial windfall as well as the allegations of profiting from Infosys’ operations in Russia.
Sunak was the favourite in the UK leadership race with more than 140 supporters in the Conservative Party, but the elections never took place as Penny Mordaunt pulled out on Monday. As a result, Sunak was picked unanimously as the next PM of the United Kingdom after the resignation of Liz Truss. Truss had a torrid tenure in office after her economic measures were criticised from all corners following a fall in the value of the pound against the United States dollar.
Sunak, who describes himself as a proud Hindu, is the UK’s first Prime Minister of South Asian heritage and the youngest for more than 200 years at the age of 42. His victory on Diwali has resonated among the Indian diaspora groups across the UK, who have hailed it as a historic moment in British social history. Rishi Sunak will take charge as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after an audience with King Charles III today.
Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street today before she makes her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch. Sunak, 42, will then arrive at the palace for his meeting with the King, who will formally anoint him as the UK’s new Prime Minister.