Pai said he and Mazumdar-Shaw were not the only ones to have received such calls

Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has confirmed that “a government official” called her recently and told her not to speak about issues such as income tax harassment that has drawn attention after the death of Café Coffee Day founder V.G. Siddhartha.

“He just said that ‘please don’t make such statements. Even Mohandas Pai should not. I am telling you as a friend’,” Mazumdar Shaw told The Telegraph in response to a question on Saturday.

Pai, former Infosys director and an investor who supports the “good work” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as his predecessor, had disclosed to Quint, the news website, that the Biocon founder had received such a call.

Asked whether she felt the call sounded like an advice or a warning, Mazumdar Shaw said: “You can call it both ways.”

“Personally, I’ve never had any problems with the tax department,” she added.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw wondered why the corporate world was so silent. “Nobody is muzzling anyone. Only you can decide on whether you want to speak out. If you are paying your taxes, why should you worry? Why is the corporate world so silent?” she asked.

“I used to speak out always. It doesn’t matter if UPA is in power or the NDA,” she added, urging the corporate world to speak up.

Speaking to this newspaper, Pai said he and Mazumdar Shaw were not the only ones to have received such calls. “Lots of people get such threats.”