Tom and Suresh made the decision, just after Tom was hired, that Tom would control the message and therefore IR, as part of his job.

You may recall his release to shareholders back then that IR would cease answering day to day inquiries and they would only release regulatory mandated and/or material information.

So if there is any pressure, it is self imposed, and he does reply to certain questions he receives, as we have seen here, when a forum member posts one of his replies.

Hope that helps

IMO, of course