Rishi Sunak on father-in-law Narayana Murthy: 'Came from nothing and just had dream'

Former United Kingdom Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, one of forerunners  for the prime minister's post, addressed the controversy surrounding his  family's wealth in a televised debate on July 18.

Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and educator and author Sudha Murty.

The former UK chancellor has long faced questions about his family's tax arrangements.

In the debate aired by ITV on Sunday, Sunak spoke about how proud he was of the journey his parents-in-law had.

"My father-in-law came from absolutely nothing and just had a dream and a couple of hundred pounds that my mother-in-law’s savings provided him," Sunak said. "And from that, he went to build one of the world’s largest, most-respected companies, that by the way, employs thousands of people here in the United Kingdom."

He added: "It is a story I am really proud of, and as prime minister, I want to ensure that we can create more stories like that at home.”

Sunak has emerged as the top contender to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader.

On Thursday's voting among Tory MPs, Sunak got the endorsement of 101. Close behind was Penny Mordaunt with 83 votes, Liz Truss with 64, Kemi Badenoch with 49, Tom Tugendhat with 32 and Suella Braverman with 27.

(With inputs from AFP)