- Closeness between the Murthys and their son-in-law, Rishi Sunak, was on ample display during NDTV World Summit
- Asked to pick his favourite between the two, Sunak said, "You don't pick between your in-laws"
- Sudha Murty called Sunak "my new son"
The closeness between their world-famous son-in-law, Rishi Sunak, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Murthys - NR Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty - was on ample display during the NDTV World Summit in Delhi.
Mother-in-law Sudha Murty called Rishi Sunak "my new son".
"So, I call Rishi my new son. I've dedicated a book to you, Rishi, my new son," said Sudha Murty, with her son-in-law up on stage.
Rishi reciprocated it with a smile and a namaste gesture.
Asked who listens to her more, daughter Akshata or Rishi, Sudha Murty picked her son-in-law.
"But Rishi listens to me more, I think. Rishi listens," she said.
"I wonder what Akshata would say when she listens to this," quipped Rishi.
"Thankfully, she's not here," he added.
Rishi, too, was effusive in his praise for his mother-in-law.
"What I learnt from my mother-in-law is her extraordinary compassion and empathy. My wife has it, as my mother-in-law has it. The way my mother-in-law can interact with people from every walk of life is something that's extraordinary, and I want to learn that from her," said Rishi Sunak.
Pivoting to his father-in-law's influence in his life, Rishi Sunak said he was the one who nudged him into politics.
"My father-in-law was very instrumental in my entry into politics. He said to me that you should go into politics, as that's the best way to make a difference," said Rishi Sunak.
Asked to pick his favourite between the two, Rishi Sunak said, "Just as you don't pick between your children, you don't pick between your in-laws."
When Narayana Murthy was asked how he assessed his highly successful son-in-law and why he wanted him to go into politics, he cited Rishi's "intelligence, integrity".
"He is intelligent. He was highly accomplished in his work. He is a man of integrity, a man of principles. We have seen so many transactions that have brought these things up. He is a wonderful example of somebody that should be in politics at this point in time in the world," said the father-in-law.
