...Hogwash, Says Industry

The tapping episode came in for scathing criticism by industry yesterday, with leading businessmen demanding a thorough investigation.

Phone tapping is something illegal the government is doing, Thapar group chief L M Thapar said. He does not see the image of the Tata group being tarnished as a fallout of the controversy regarding funding of extremists. It is the governments responsibility to maintain law and order in the area. Even if the government cant fulfil its responsibility, business has to carry on, he said.

However, an industry observer said the man on the street does not understand all the complexities of the incident and is a little surprised by the disclosure that the Tatas were funding the extremists. The observer also expects the Tatas to initiate efforts soon to rebuild their image.

 

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry secretary-general Amit Mitra condemned the incident as a violation of the fundamental rights of the individual and demanded a thorough investigation to ascertain if a standing statute had been violated by the alleged tapping. Mitra said: Hopefully, the incident will lead to the formalisation of a regulatory structure that will preserve the privacy of the individual while allowing telephone tapping in certain exceptional cases where there is a possibility of criminality.

He added that wrongdoing by companies under the existing legal structure should be viewed against the tight-rope walk that industries in Assam have to perform. Tea is an especially sensitive item since we are losing world leadership in the commodity.

The CII, too, said telephone tapping was a violation of fundamental rights and an encroachment on the privacy of the individual which had an adverse effect on the psyche of the corporates.