Author: Pradeep Thakur
Publication: Times of India
Date: November 28, 2010
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Profile-of-the-Great-Indian-Lobbyist/articleshow/7002491.cms
Introduction: The lobbyist has a superior
sense of smell, good at sniffing out opportunities to trap people. Almost
any occasion can become an excuse to proffer gifts. Diwali gifts depend on
the contact's net worth in the lobbyist's eyes
Corporate communications has become the nerve
centre of almost every industrial house. Its importance has been highlighted
by the disclosure of taped conversations between a lobbyist and journalists.
The budget allocated to this could be Rs 10 crore or 10 times as much, depending
on the size of the company. The corporate communications department is divided
into several sections and senior managers are given the task of networking
with the leadership of the main political parties, government departments
and ministries. Some corporate houses count 'specialists' within their ranks.
These are people who have "handled" key ministers and opposition
leaders for decades and give the company the comfort of knowing the job will
get done.
Others employed in corporate communications departments network with bureaucrats
big and small and everyone else around from minister to peon and beat newspaper
correspondent. They grease palms and gather information.
This is why the incomes of many people in our jungle raj might bear no relation
to their occupation. Smalltime non-IAS personal assistants to ministers, lowly
babus and journalists who cover ministries could earn anywhere between Rs
1 lakh and several lakhs, depending on their talent at doing deals and the
level of their honesty. This income would be over and above their legitimate
monthly pay cheque.
Observers say there is barely a part of government that hasn't been invaded
by lobbyists. The Cabinet Secretariat and CBI are currently looking into cases
of former bureaucrats taking up jobs or becoming partners in entities whose
clients benefitted from decisions they took while handling key government
policy.
The lobbyist has a superior sense of smell, good at sniffing out opportunities
to trap people. Almost any occasion can become an excuse to proffer gifts.
It could be a corporate buyer bidding crores for very bad photographs taken
by the husband of a useful female contact. It could be a bouquet or a birthday
cake. Diwali gifts could range from silver glasses to gold ornaments, from
mobile phones to laptops, depending on the contact's net worth in the lobbyist's
eyes.
The lobbyist becomes exceedingly active in election season. During the last
Lok Sabha elections, the market buzz was about two corporate giants who had
allegedly pumped more than Rs 700 crore into a political outfit. One
industrialist was believed to have contributed Rs 100 crore to a party not
in power. But the lobbyist is nothing if not impartial. He spreads his favours.
Contributions are not restricted to any one party. If a business house is
to maintain hassle-free operations, it has to funds several political outfits.
The buzz about the huge payouts starts to gain credibility when one considers
the fact that some heads of corporate affairs went on to become MPs and filed
affidavits with the Election Commission admitting their personal assets are
worth more than Rs 10 crore each.
The lobbyist lives large, cultivating "clients" with freebies such
as corporate jet services, helicopters and chartered flights. Cash donations
are used to fix the political class and senior members of the other three
estates some of whom function like partners in crime. The perks could include
funding the contact's children at overseas universities or sponsored foreign
trips en famille.
The lobbyist is generally good at covering his tracks - but not always. The
Income Tax department has details of payments made and accepted. It's all
part of a wider surveillance operation on suspect entities and high networth
individuals and their perceived fronts. Some of this detail is being used
by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate in
their ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
The financial transactions could be varied. Some contacts accept payment in
the form of preferential company shares allotted to close relatives at Re
1 each or throwaway rates. Sometimes, companies are floated and the kin of
key contacts become directors, the sole purpose being to transferring payouts
to these new legal entities.
Government offices are so infested with lobbyists, even the peon might be
pressed into service - for a fee - to photocopy classified documents for corporate
clients. Information is power and helps big business make the right decisions.
Like the peon, so the hack. Classified documents are selectively "leaked"
to the friendly journalist. One lobbyist is said to have paid crores to clear
some top journalists' credit card bills, which were run up partying in.
As it's all about money and all that money can buy, the lobbyist is king of
the jungle raj.
