After article against Infosys, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh says Panchajanya magazine not its mouthpiece

In its latest edition, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated magazine Panchajanya carried a four-page cover story describing IT company Infosys as working with “anti-national forces”, adding that the company may be “providing assistance to Naxals, Leftists and Tukde Tukde Gang.”

The article was in context of the glitches in the income tax e-filing portal developed by Infosys. The portal was launched in early June but had taxpayers facing glitches, after which finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman summoned Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, giving the company until September 15 to fix these issues.

On Sunday, the RSS distanced itself from the said article, with its publicity head Sunil Ambekar tweeting that Panchajanya is not an RSS mouthpiece and the opinions expressed in the article should not be linked with the organization.

In the piece titled “Saakh Aur Aaghaat” (Reputation and Harm), it was alleged that Infosys had earlier messed up other government platforms as well, citing glitches in the websites developed for GST and the ministry of corporate affairs.

The piece said: “When these things happen repeatedly, it is bound to raise suspicion. There are accusations that the Infosys management is deliberately trying to destabilise India’s economy."

The piece also alleged that “misinformation websites are funded by Infosys. Some organisations that spread caste hatred are also beneficiaries of Infosys’s charity.”

The cover story said this despite mentioning that the magazine had no concrete evidence to prove this, adding that the company’s “history and circumstances” made these claims hold water.