Tech Mahindra sacks diversity officer ‘who mocked gay people & called Islam a global pain’
New Delhi: TechMahindra has fired a diversity officer accused of making statements derogatory to homosexuals and Islam, the company announced in a tweet late Saturday.
The decision followed an internal investigation kicked up by tweets posted by a former employee, Gaurav Probir Pramanik, who is gay. Gaurav worked at the Noida office of the company between 2013 and 2016.
ThePrint was the first to report that Tech Mahindra had launched an investigation against the officer in question, Richa Gautam.
According to Gaurav, among other instances, Gautam had labelled him “effeminate” and implied that it affected his performance at work.
Gaurav alleged that in 2015, she asked a manager who was weeping whether he was “a gay” to be “crying like this”.
In one of her tweets from an account that has been locked to strangers since the controversy broke, she reportedly called Islam “a global pain”.
“I stand vindicated,” Gaurav told ThePrint after Gautam’s sacking. “I am grateful that the outcome came so fast. I have finally got some sort of a closure to the hurt and humiliation I was subjected to over an extended period of time.”
“My prime reason for leaving Tech Mahindra was the constant humiliation I had to face for being gay,” Gaurav had told ThePrint in a previous email.
Speaking to ThePrint, Tech Mahindra MD and CEO C.P. Gurnani reiterated the formal statement issued by Tech Mahindra on Twitter and sought to distance the company from Gautam.
According to her profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn, Gautam had been with Tech Mahindra since 2007.
Her alleged harassment of employees came to light earlier this month, after the historic 6 September verdict of the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality.
Three days after the Supreme Court’s Section 377 verdict, on 9 September, Gaurav wrote Gautam an email where he sought to call her out for her behaviour. In the email, which Gaurav tweeted after Gautam reportedly didn’t respond, he detailed the aforementioned instances of harassement.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra and Gurnani responded to the tweets, saying they would investigate the matter.
ThePrint reached out to Gautam through Facebook but is yet to receive a reply.
courtesy : theprint.in
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
