Letters: Wanted: A mediator

Apropos the article Resolving the Tata imbroglio (November 22) by Percy S Mistry. The article could not have been written at a more appropriate time. The unprecedented corporate battle has reached a gigantic proportion that really could compromise the interests of various stakeholders. Your paper on Tuesday mentions Nusli Wadia has joined the battle. While shareholders are meant to share the risk and responsibilities of ownership of the company, the most vulnerable of the lot remains the creditors to the group which Mistry has touched upon in detail. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the effectiveness of a group like TGCC would depend on the support from the legal framework available in the country and the commitment of the constituent members in TGCC, it would be time-consuming and is bound to face many legal hurdles. A more effective measure could be action from the government, which would be able to mediate between the parties more effectively due to its independent and non-biased status. So far, the government has shied away from the scene, but even in developed nations the government has played a mediator role in the past in private family disputes in the interest of the general public. For instance, Nicolas Sarkozy’s stand on the famous family dispute involving L’Oreal in France not many years back.

It is time the government acted in the interest of all.

M L Kabir, Kolkata

Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to: 

The Editor, Business Standard

Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg 

New Delhi 110 002 

Fax: (011) 23720201  •  E-mail: letters@bsmail.in

All letters must have a postal address and telephone number