Zoho co-founder and former CEO Sridhar Vembu on Saturday issued a fresh statement after facing criticism over his remarks expressing “sadness” at Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Many social media users accused Vembu of defending the Narendra Modi government to protect Zoho’s business interests in India.
Event Context
Addressing the criticism, Vembu said that around 90% of Zoho’s revenue comes from outside India, earned by competing in the global market. He added that only about 2% of the company’s revenue comes from government contracts, and whenever Zoho does business with the government, it ensures value for taxpayers’ money.
Vembu says revenues comes from outside India
“Some facts: about 90% of our revenue comes from outside India, won against tough global competition,” he wrote.
“About 2% of our revenue is from the government and when we do business with the government, we always save the taxpayer money, which we have the utmost respect for. We are also among the largest tax payers in our region,” he further added.
Earlier, Vembu had expressed disappointment over Pradhan’s resignation and praised his contribution to the education sector. In a post on X, he wrote, “Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is one of the finest public servants I know. He cares deeply about the youth of this nation, particularly rural students.”
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He also said that he had held several discussions with Pradhan on how to better equip rural youth with skills.
“I am sad to see him resign. He has put the nation above self, and my respect for him is even greater now. Thank you for your service, Pradhan-ji. Please keep fighting the good fight,” he added.
In the fresh X post, Vembu also said he had never asked any government for favours and maintained that his advice had always been offered without being guided by political ideology.
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He wrote,”I have never asked for a favor from the government and I never will. When asked for advice, I provide it and I do it independent of political ideology – the Kerala Startup Mission, when the Left Front government was in power, wanted my advice. I told them Keralam has the potential to be a major R&D hub of India. Since then, we have invested in numerous R&D driven statups in Keralam.”
Referring to Tamil Nadu, he added, “In Tamil Nadu, our Chief Minister has made a great new beginning and I am happy to support his effort. It is not because of political ideology but because I want good things to happen in Tamil Nadu.”
Concluding his post, Vembu said the criticism would not change his approach.
“I love our nation, and I speak my mind. I will not bow down to attacks nor threats. The attacks make us stronger and help us achieve greater success.”
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Without naming any individual or group, Vembu asserted that his views were independent and said he would not be influenced by criticism or threats. In his latest post, he sought to reinforce that claim by highlighting Zoho’s business model, its revenue sources and his interactions with governments.
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