The diplomatic cables leaked by the WikiLeaks have provided a rare insight into how the United States has sought to exert pressure and influence policymaking in India, while the Niira Radia Tapes present a sad picture of the vulnerability of the Indian state as corporate lobbyists have a free run. These were some of the views articulated at a discussion organised by the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Delhi Media...
More »SEARCH RESULT
CBI grills Radia, ‘lobbyist didn’t reveal much’
Lobbyist Niira Radia , who’s in the eye of major storm over her taped telephonic conversations with a wide variety of people, including politicians, corporates and journalists, was on Tuesday grilled by the CBI over her alleged involvement in swinging commercial deals which smacked of a quid pro quo. A three-member CBI team subjected Radia to an intense questioning at her Chhatarpur farmhouse in south Delhi this morning. The interrogation, which...
More »Nobody Cares by Dipa Sinha
While children are dying of malnutrition, our leaders are busy comforting the corporate sector This week’s show of ‘Walk the Talk’ by Shekhar Gupta was the third in a series of episodes that seemed to be dedicated to bringing forth the corporate viewpoint to counter the current environment of mistrust, post Radiagate. While the first two were with Ratan Tata and Deepak Parekh, obvious corporate representatives, it is telling that as...
More »Party floats corporate RTI by Sanjay K Jha
The Congress has proposed the introduction of an RTI-like legislation exclusively for “corporate corridors”, floating what looks like a nascent idea at a time some industrialists have criticised the government after the leak of the Niira Radia Tapes. The suggestion was made in the latest issue of the Congress mouthpiece Sandesh and released today at the plenary where Sonia made an anti-corruption drive the cornerstone of her speech. “The Right to Information...
More »PRactical rules
While the lay public may have been shocked by the revelation of an often cosy relationship between public relations (PR) professionals and the media, brought out by the Niira Radia telephone tapes, few in the media or in business would have been surprised. Few editors and reporters today can say they have not been approached for “friendly stories” or threatened with ad blackouts or block access for failure to publish...
More »