‘Public interest is important, so is privacy of individuals’

NEW DELHI: The phone-tapping episode involving corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, media persons, topnotch politicians and industrialists has got corporate India worried. Most of those from the India Inc., TOI spoke to are of the opinion that the leaked conversations might serve the public interest in curbing corruption but it could adversely affect India’s image globally and business environment at home.

“We are deeply concerned about the potential damage to Brand India due to brazen acts of corruption by a select few,” said Rajan Bharti Mittal , vice-chairman & MD of Bharti Enterprises.

Earlier, PM Manmohan Singh remarked that that the government agencies’ powers to tap phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money laundering have created nervousness in some sections of the corporate sector. Singh spoke for the first time after the controversy broke out. His comments come a day after HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh told a television channel that the big boys in the government are “following their own agenda, not looking at a broader picture and the PM has to get that organized.”

Shankar Sharma, director of First Global, a broking firm feels that the country could become a police state. “People are going to be afraid to talk on the phone and the whole business scenario will be severely impacted. This cannot be permitted in a civil society ,” he added. Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Pune-based Bajaj Auto has a similar view. “Public interest is important but so is privacy, dignity and self-respect of individuals.”

Though most corporates observe that phone tapping for public interest is fine but unrelated conversations shouldn’t become fodder for gossip. Said Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director, Marico, marketer of Parachute coconut oil: “The larger corruption issue will have an impact on the India story. As far as phone tapping goes, there is no issue with it if it is done to tackle corruption but unnecessary gossip cannot be passed around in the name of fighting corruption.”

After the taped conversations made its way to the media , Ratan Tata moved the SC contending that it had infringed upon his fundamental right to life including right to privacy. The SC directed the centre to respond to Tata’s petition and said that care should be taken to protect the image of individuals till the hearing on the issue is completed.

The Radia Tapes: Politics vs Business

Looks like the UPA govt was not made by the PM... Portfolios are decided by others
L K Advani | BJP

The govt is more concerned about scaring away investment than the loss of Rs 1.78 lakh crore to the exchequer
Prakash Karat | CPM

The controversies risk neutralizing India’s growth story... You can’t have phones tapped for two years. Even if it’s a crook, does it take you two years to find out if something was wrong?
Deepak Parekh | CHAIRMAN HDFC BANK

2G scam and Radia tapes have dented India’s image... A lot of issues like whether it was a private conversation
and whether it was right to discuss it need to be debated
S Gopalakrishnan CEO INFOSYS