The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Industry plans election fund

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Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Industry plans election fund

Priscilla Jebaraj

Part of CII Integrity India campaign

CHENNAI: Industrialists harassed for political donations every election season could soon have another option.

The Confederation of Indian Industry plans to set up an industry-wide election fund as part of its Integrity India campaign. The fund will accept voluntary donations from CII members and disburse the money to political parties for election purposes.

"There is a genuine need for funding, but it needs to be done in a transparent and equitable manner," N. Srinivasan, advisor to the CII president, told The Hindu on Tuesday. "It is early days yet, but we are thinking of an industry-wide fund on the lines of the Tata model."

The Tata group set up an electoral fund for its group companies before the 1998 polls. The money was distributed to all parties on the basis of their representation in the legislature.

Mr. Srinivasan said a trust would administer the fund, which would depend on voluntary donation from the CII's 6,300 members and use a "transparent formula" to disburse the money to all parties. Donors would be made public, with donations accounted on company books.

"A businessman who is being harassed by his local politician can just say, `I have made my contribution to the industry fund, go and ask them'," said Mr. Srinivasan.

Will the industry body expect a quid pro quo from politicians in the form of business-friendly policies? Mr. Srinivasan's reply was diplomatic: "The CII has always supported policies which are for the good of the economy and national development." "We have had informal discussions with industry captains, who are quite positive... There has been a mixed response from political parties," he said.

The proposal is part of a nationwide movement being spearheaded by the CII's Young Indian Forum to eradicate corruption. "We want to create a groundswell of opinion that will change India's image. If we want more overseas investment, if we want the Indian brand to succeed globally... it is important in our own self-interest to bring this to the front-burner," said Young Indians chairman Narayan Sethuramon.

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