Companies and individual MLAs / MPs should turn transparent too
7 Aug, 2013Dear friends, fellow-citizens,
While exerting pressure on the government to be transparent, perhaps we are conveniently turning a blind eye to the companies, and to individual MLAs, MPs etc. While protesting against the amendment of the RTI Act, why don’t we simultaneously launch a campaign of sending open letters (by Registered AD/Speedpost) to various businesses and individual legislators? Now is the time, because Lok Sabha elections 2014 are only nine months away. This is the time when political workers of all parties go to businessmen for massive hafta-vasooli: “Your rivals are giving us money. If you don’t, it’s ok… But just don’t come crying to us when the I-T / excise guys / cops start harassing you.”
Precisely to prevent such funding from becoming publicly known, the Union Cabinet recently approved a Bill for amending the RTI Act. The government argues in its official press release: “Provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 has sufficient provisions… and all such information is made available through the website of the Election Commission.”
This is a lie; parties have always succeeded in putting a veil over their funding, despite all such rules and regulations. The legal bribery known as campaign contributions (and also routine contributions to individual MLAs, MPs etc.) turns party chiefs, ministers and legislators into agents of the Tatas-Birlas-Ambanis, big builders, hoteliers, the tanker-lobby, sand-mining mafias, etc. Our votes become meaningless; our democracy is hijacked by “donations”!
Corporate lobbyists are using such “donations” to arm-twist the government to relax environmental and health norms, enabling commercial activities such as putting up 75% unauthorized cellphone towers, selling harmful drugs that are banned by USFDA, etc.
Let us also urge the companies to make disclosures, and to give a public undertaking that they will not give any funds to a party without disclosing it to the media. A sample letter would read as follows:
“To Shri XYZ, Chairman …
Dear Mr XYZ,
As you know, the government is bent on amending the RTI Act so that political parties do not have to disclose how, and from whom, the political parties are collecting funds. This is now an issue of politicians-versus-citizens.
We hope that your heart is with the citizens. ON YOUR OWN INITIATIVE, KINDLY ISSUE A PRESS STATEMENT SAYING THAT YOU WILL HENCEFORTH DISCLOSE ALL THE DETAILS of any donations in cash or kind (such as use of company offices, vehicles etc.) to political parties, individual MLAs, MPs etc. We will also appreciate it if you yourself release the details of such donations in the last few years on your website, through press releases, advertisements, notices etc., instead of waiting for some whistleblower in your organization to leak out such details.”
By sending such letters to the top brass of, say, 100 biggest companies, we can exert some moral force on the bribe-givers also.
To the individual MLAs, MPs, Corporators etc, we can write letters like this:
“To Shri ABCD, Member of Parliament…
Dear Sir,
As you know, the government is bent on amending the RTI Act so that political parties do not have to disclose how, and from whom, the political parties are collecting funds. This is now an issue of politicians-versus-citizens.
We want to know clearly where you stand on this issue. As your voters, we hope that your heart is with the citizens. ON YOUR OWN INITIATIVE, KINDLY ISSUE A PRESS STATEMENT SAYING THAT YOU WILL HENCEFORTH DISCLOSE ALL THE DETAILS OF ANY DONATION or other support (such as use of company offices, vehicles etc.) that you or your party collegues receive. We will also appreciate it if you yourself release the details of such donations in the last few years, instead of waiting for some whistleblower in your party circles to leak out such details.”
We are under no illusion that that they will readily comply with such requests, but let us not be afraid to ask! Because in the end, that is the heart of Satyagraha.
Also, let us REACH OUT TO CORPORATE WHISTLEBLOWERS – the retired CEOs/CFOs and other top-brass who may be in our circles -- to disclose whatever emails and other correspondence to which they are privy. We will also encourage PARTY WHISTLEBLOWERS – especially those who are unhappy with their party chiefs – to reveal details to us, which we will then put into public domain as a service to the country.
Of course they will have concerns about confidentiality of such information, but we would remind them that at this crucial juncture, BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON THEIR FORMER COLLEAGUES (OR EVEN PRESENT COLLEAGUES) IS AN ACT OF PATRIOTISM.
We – each of the undersigned -- would personally take full responsibility for concealing the identity of the whistleblower while acting as a safe channel for releasing the information to the public. We are willing to sign any non-disclosure agreement that a whistleblower may reasonably require for parting with such material.
And yes, we know for a fact that many other RTI activists nationwide would readily do the same. We request all such colleagues to email us their permission to circulate their email ids, mobile numbers and location, signifying their willingness to receive documents from corporate and political whistleblowers, and publicize them on internet and in the media.
Let the political parties not believe that if they block the Right to Information channel, they can prevent such crucial information from reaching the eyes of the public. In fact, they should stand advised that it would be in their larger interest to leave the RTI channel unobstructed. Otherwise, their system integrity will be breached by uncontrollable disclosures from public-spirited whistleblowers who may reveal many embarrassing details, over and above the basic documents that we can request under RTI.
Yours in solidarity,
1. GR Vora Grvora1@gmail.com 9869195785 Mumbai
2. Dr Mohd Naved Khan mohdnavedkhan@gmail.com 9557633713 Aligarh (UP)
3. Bimal Kumar Khemani bimal.khemani@gmail.com 9359724625 Aligarh
4. Vikram Singh vikram06@gmail.com 9412732908 Aligarh
5. Vinita Deshmukh vinitapune@gmail.com 9823036663 Pune
6. Rakesh Agarwal rakesh@nyayabhoomi.org 9873222222 New Delhi
7. Suresh K Nangia sknangia2004@yahoo.com 9322258038 Mumbai
8. Krishnaraj Rao Building.RTI.Union@gmail.com 9821588114 Mumbai
9. Sulaiman Bhimani designerstouch11@gmail.com 9323642081 Mumbai
10. Prashant Uikey prashant.vikey@gmail.com 9769612555 Mumbai
11. Mohd Afzal mohdafzal1963@gmail.com 9820490435 Mumbai