Top Infosys official T V Mohandas Pai has alleged that his company was asked to pay bribe by government officials to clear projects but it refused and said files ''go missing'' when ''palms are not greased.''

"We were asked to pay bribe. We refused. But in all places, wherever Infosys is functioning today, we have been supported by the chief secretaries. In north India too, we got the approval without paying a single rupee bribe," he said.

"This because we brought the issue to the notice of higher officials. It takes a long time to get things done unless you grease people's palms and if you refuse like we do always, it takes a delay.

"They don't give it at all.... The file disappears or the file is not available.... They are not able to locate the file. They are not able to search the file," Pai, who is Human Resources Director of the software major, said yesterday, maintaining that the proposed Lokpal Bill will go a long way towards changing the situation.

Reacting sharply to Pai's remarks, the BJP, which is ruling in Karnataka, today said he should back his claims with some proof.

"Just because some individuals and some political parties make some charges does not mean they are true. It should be backed by ample evidence," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said in New Delhi.

He, however, added that no form of corruption should be tolerated and all state governments should have a mechanism to tackle it.

"In case you want to deviate the rules or you want to bend the rules to suit your needs, then naturally the person executing the work would expect something," said Dhananjay Kumar, special representative of Karnataka government in Delhi, on Pai's remarks.

"I don't know how Mohandas Pai or Infosys was affected. I would like to ask Mr Mohandas Pai if he can show some proof of that," Kumar said.