Manoj Mitta
Dec 18th 2010
Usha Ramanathan
What do you think about India Inc's sudden concern about privacy following the leakage of a lobbyist's intercepted conversations?
It should come as no surprise that corporate personalities are uncomfortable about their manipulation of those in power, and of state power itself, becoming public. In the past two decades, especially, the closeness and complicity between the state and corporate India has been much in evidence. That the state and the corporation have their hands in each other's pockets has been plain for anyone willing to see. Yet, where there is eavesdropping there is almost certainly embarrassment, and I think it is this awkwardness at being overheard that is causing concern. What is being sought, through the court, is an injunction against publishing the tapes. The power of the state to breach privacy is merely a tertiary matter, if that.