Karnataka IT minister to techies: Moonlighters should leave the state

Karnataka IT minister CN Ashwath Narayan has a message for techies. Putting his weight behind Indian IT giants Infosys, TCS, Wipro and others who are opposing moonlighting, he said that those who moonlight should leave the state. Narayan said that paid freelancing beyond office hours is “literally cheating” and professionals wanting to do so should shift out of the state.

Speaking to Times of India, Narayan said, “As a policy and ethically, how can moonlighting be allowed? It is not fair in any way to moonlight. That’s not the way forward… It is literally cheating.” He went on to ask sarcastically, “How can you perform? Is he a superman or what? Does he not have a family?” When asked if the companies have raised the matter with the state government, he said, “When they have the power, why should they come to us? They are dealing with it in their own ways.”