Sudha Murthy: Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law to sit in India’s parliament

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law has been nominated to serve in the upper house of India’s parliament.

Sudha Murthy, 73, is married to NR Narayana Murthy – the billionaire co-founder of global tech giant Infosys.

Their daughter, Akshata, married Mr Sunak who has been prime minister since 2022, in 2009.

Most members of India’s upper house are elected but 12 of them, usually high achievers, are nominated to the chamber by the president for a six-year term.

Indian PM Narendra Modi said the appointment was an example of “‘Nari Shakti’ [women’s power], exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation’s destiny.”

Mr Modi added in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Ms Murthy’s “contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring.”

Last year, the Indian government awarded her the “Padma Bhushan”, India’s third-highest civilian honour, in recognition of her career in social work.

Ms Murthy – who trained as an engineer – thanked Mr Modi, saying she was “grateful for the opportunity to serve” her country.

She told The Hindu newspaper: “The nomination has come as a pleasant surprise, and I am doubly thrilled to be presented this honour on International Women’s Day.”

She added: “I am yet to chalk up my plans for my parliamentary tenure. I will see what best I can do to utilise this platform to work for the people of India.”

According to Forbes, Ms Murthy’s husband has an estimated net worth of $4.7bn (£3.6bn).

Their daughter Akshata Murthy holds shares in Infosys and together with Mr Sunak appeared in the Sunday Times’ 2022 Rich List with an estimated combined wealth of £730m ($937m).

Narayana Murthy once said that he borrowed $250 from his wife to start the firm, which is now India’s seventh-largest and the first Indian company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sudha Murthy’s face is well known all over India as she frequently appears on TV chat shows. During one of those appearances she recalled how UK border control officials thought she was joking when she said she would be staying in Downing Street.

She also said that while she had succeeded in making her husband a businessman, “my daughter has made her husband prime minister of the UK.”