NASSCOM slams US Senator's 'chop shop' jibe

New Delhi, Aug 13 (ANI): Som Mittal, the president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on Friday criticized derogatory comments made by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer with regard to Indian companies operating abroad.

Addressing at a press conference here, Mittal said: "It is disappointing that the Bill and the comments by Senator Schumer were clearly election rhetoric, and he chose to ignore all the facts and figures about what the Indian industry does. While he did withdraw his words on chop shops, but I think his comments on border shops and also the business models that Indian companies follow...he did choose to ignore many of these facts."

It may be recalled that last week, Schumer had likened IT majors like Infosys to a 'chop shop,' which created a furore in Indian trade circles.

Mittal said that Schumer had ignored credible reports and facts that proved that Indian companies had been a catalyst in boosting the U.S. economy during and further global downturn.

Indian outsourcing companies, including Infosys, have been facing scathing criticism from some U.S. politicians like Schumer who say foreign firms add to the rising unemployment in the US by outsourcing jobs to foreign workers.

Mittal comments came a day after the U.S. Congress on Thursday passed a legislation to strengthen security along America's border with Mexico, trying to tackle the politically sensitive issue of illegal immigrants ahead of November's Congressional elections.

Reacting to the move, Mittal pointed out that Indians working in U.S.-based firms were not labourers, but educated workers, and demanded that they be given due respect.

"By the way, these are not labour. These are highly skilled workers. I think that needs to be emphasised. These are highly skilled people and to be treating them as ordinary labour, I think, is incorrect," he said.

The 600 million dollar plan is financed by imposing higher visa fees on some Indian technology companies operating in the United States, prompting a protest from the Government of India. (ANI)