Akshata Murthy Archives - Lokmarg

Truss Wishes Sunak Every Success As She Exits Power

By LokMarg 25th October 2022

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday wished new Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak ‘every success’ as she exits power.

The outgoing PM Liz Truss in a statement outside 10 Downing Street said that she wishes “every success” to Rishi Sunak, adding she looks forward to spending more time in her constituency and serving the country from the back benches.
She also reiterated UK’s support for Ukraine and said, “We must support Ukraine in its brave fight against Putin’s aggression. Ukraine must prevail and we must continue to strengthen our nation’s defences. That’s what I have been striving to achieve and I wish Rishi Sunak every success for good of our country.”

She also called for lowering taxes and delivering growth, Truss said, “We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently. This means delivering more freedom for our own citizens and restoring power for our democratic institutions.”

“It means lower taxes so people can keep more of the money they earn. And it means delivering growth that will lead to more job security, higher wages and more opportunities for our children and grandchildren,” she added.

Truss said that her government had acted “urgently and decisively” to help hard-working families.

She said she had helped thousands of businesses to avoid bankruptcy, and taken back energy independence so we’re “no longer reliant on malign foreign powers.”

Truss started her farewell speech by saying it has been “a huge honour” to be Prime Minister and to lead the nation in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II and welcoming the accession of King Charles.

Truss also quoted Roman philosopher Seneca, “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult,” while reiterating that the UK is “more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges we face”.

Ending her speech, Truss said, “We continue to battle through a storm but I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead.”

On Monday, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak became the Conservative Party leader less than two months after he lost to Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race. Sunak’s change in fate was triggered by the resignation of Truss after her high-profile sacking and resignation in her cabinet, following a heavily criticised mini-budget that left the UK pound tumbling.

After she was forced to step down just 45 days into office, Truss became the shortest-serving British PM. Standing before 10 Downing Street, Truss said that she recognizes she “cannot deliver the mandate” on which she was elected.

Truss’ ascent to power was paved by the Tory leadership crisis following Boris Johnson’s resignation in July, after a series of resignations of cabinet members, who protested against his scandal-plagued leadership.

New UK Prime Minister-designate Sunak vowed to work daily to deliver for the British people.

“I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in and day out to deliver for the British people,” Sunak said at Conservative HQ in London.

He also paid tribute to former UK PM Liz Truss for her “dignified” leadership “under difficult circumstances abroad and at home”.

Sunak said that he is “humbled and honoured” to have the support of his fellow MPs and be elected leader.

Sunak’s change in fate was triggered by the resignation of Truss after her high-profile sacking and resignation in her cabinet, following a heavily criticised mini-budget that left the UK pound tumbling.

Following Truss’s short stint as British prime minister, Rishi Sunak and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson were seen as frontrunners for the UK PM bid.

But Boris Johnson ruled himself out of the Conservative party leadership race despite claiming he had the required support. The former UK PM said he had come to the conclusion “this would simply not be the right thing to do” as “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.”

Sunak is born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who migrated to Britain from East Africa.

Earlier in April, reports of Akshata’s non-domicile status and alleged tax evasion had created a controversy. Sunak had said his wife has been paying all taxes. Her spokesperson had earlier said that Akshata Murthy “has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income”. (ANI)

Rishi Sunak Becomes First Indian Origin British Prime Minister

By LokMarg 24th October 2022

In a historic development, Britain got its first Asian-origin Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to lead the nation. Sunak also becomes the first Indian-origin British Premier.

Liz Truss, who stepped down as the PM of the United Kingdom on October 20, congratulated Sunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and the UK’s next Prime Minister.

“Congratulations @RishiSunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister. You have my full support,” tweeted Truss.

Here is a quick guide to the UK’s next PM Sunak.

The former chancellor of the exchequer made a high-stakes gamble. He launched an attack that helped to end Boris Johnson’s premiership, put himself forward as his replacement, but ultimately lost to Liz Truss. Admitting defeat, he retreated to the parliamentary back benches.

He lost to Liz Truss in September, but she resigned six weeks later. In the latest leadership contest, Sunak racked up the support of his fellow MPs early, and fast.

He crossed the 100 nominations he needed long before the deadline – including from MPs that had previously backed Truss or Boris Johnson.

He will become the first Indian-origin person to lead the UK – and at the age of 42, he is also the youngest person to take the office in more than 200 years.

Sunak first publicly declared on Sunday morning that he would be standing in the contest. In a tweet, he wrote, “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That’s why I am standing to be the Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country.”

Sunak, whose parents came to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s, is of Indian descent. His father was a local doctor while his mother ran a pharmacy in southern England, something Sunak says gave him his desire to serve the public.

He will also be the first Hindu to become British prime minister, securing the position on Diwali, the festival of lights that marks one of the most important days of the Hindu calendar. Sunak himself made history in 2020 when he lit Diwali candles outside 11 Downing Street, the official residence of the UK chancellor.

He has faced challenges over his elite background, having studied at the exclusive Winchester College, Oxford and Stanford universities. He is known for his expensive taste in fashion and has worked for banks and hedge funds, including Goldman Sachs.

Sunak’s election on Monday marks the pinnacle of what has been a speedy rise to power. He was first elected as an MP in 2015 and spent two years on the back benches before becoming a junior minister in Theresa May’s government. Johnson gave Sunak his first major government role, appointing him as chief secretary to the Treasury in 2019 and promoting him to the chancellor in 2020.

He was the first person who ‘predicted’ financial problems under Truss. He clashed with the former PM during the previous leadership race, claiming her plan to borrow money during an inflation crisis was a “fairytale” that would plunge the economy into chaos.

Sunak was first elected as an MP in 2015 – for Richmond in north Yorkshire – but rose quickly, and was made finance minister – or chancellor – in February 2020 under Boris Johnson.

Sunak was in charge of Covid support cash, the financial aid during lockdowns – including furlough payments and the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme for restaurants.

His wife is Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy.

He faced controversy over his wife’s tax arrangements.

Over the summer, it emerged that Akshata Murthy paid no UK tax on big earnings abroad – which is legal. Sunak defended his wife saying, “to smear my wife to get at me is awful” – but eventually she agreed to start paying extra taxes. It was also found he temporarily had a US green card, allowing him to live permanently in America while he was the UK’s chancellor.

He campaigned for Brexit and deregulation. “Free ports” are one of his long-time favourite ideas: areas near ports or airports where goods can be imported and exported without paying taxes, to encourage trade.

In 2016, he told a group of schoolchildren that he originally wanted to be a Jedi Knight when he grew up. His favourite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back.

However, Sunak faces an enormous task. The UK is in the midst of a deep cost-of-living crisis and soaring inequality. Financial markets are still spooked after Truss’ disastrous economic policy missteps.

The Conservative party, already unpopular after 12 years in power, has plunged itself into a state of utter chaos over the past four months and is now well behind the opposition Labour party in opinion polls. The only comfort for Sunak is that he doesn’t have to call an election until January 2025. (ANI)

UK Ex-Home Secy Priti Patel Backs Rishi Sunak As PM

By LokMarg 24th October 2022

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel on Monday came out in support of Rishi Sunak taking over at 10 Downing Street as the Conservative Party leader after her former boss, Boris Johnson withdrew from the leadership contest.

“In these difficult times for our country, we must unite by putting public service first and working together. We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us, we must put political differences aside to give @RishiSunak the best chance of succeeding,” tweeted Patel.

Notably, earlier she supported former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“I’m backing @BorisJohnson to return as our Prime Minister, to bring together a united team to deliver our manifesto and lead Britain to a stronger and more prosperous future,” tweeted Patel.

She added that Johnson has the mandate to deliver an elected manifesto and a proven track record of getting the big decisions right.

“I am backing him in the leadership contest,” she said.

However, on Monday she said that the Tories must put political differences aside to give Sunak the best chance of succeeding as the new leader.

It seems now that this Diwali, the UK could get its first Indian origin and Hindu PM Rishi Sunak who is the favorite in the conservative leadership.

Earlier, Boris Johnson ruled himself out of the Conservative party leadership race despite claiming he had the required support. Johnson said he had come to the conclusion “this would simply not be the right thing to do” as “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament,” reported Independent. ie.

He also added that this was due to the failure to reach a deal with Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt. “I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that Johnson’s campaign team has earlier told supporters they have secured the 100 nominations needed from MPs for the former prime minister to get on the ballot paper.

The contest was triggered by outgoing leader Liz Truss’s resignation on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Sunak as per media reports had crossed that threshold by Friday night, ahead of declaring his candidacy on Sunday and amassing nearly 150 public nominations from Tory lawmakers.

He is a wealthy Hindu descendant of immigrants from India and East Africa.

Sunak is born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who migrated to Britain from East Africa.

An Oxford and Stanford University alumnus, Sunak is famously married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of NR Narayana Murthy, the billionaire businessman who founded Infosys.

Earlier in April, reports of Akshata’s non-domicile status and alleged tax evasion had created a furor. Rishi Sunak claimed that she has been paying all taxes.

Her spokesperson said that Akshata Murthy “has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income”. (ANI)