PM assures industry over 2G ‘witch-hunt’; vows to end graft
01 Apr 2011
Seeking to allay the jitters caused to industry by the ongoing questioning of corporate leaders in connection with the 2G probe, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday told the industry that he was aware of ''the nervousness in some sections'' and assured them of a corruption-free environment.
Chairing a meeting of the prime minister's council on trade and industry, Singh said, ''I am aware of the nervousness in some sections of the corporate sector arising out of some recent unfortunate developments. We stand committed to ensuring that our industry moves ahead with confidence and without fear or apprehensions.''
At the meeting was attended by major industry leaders, including Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj, Azim Premji, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Deepak Parekh, Swati Piramal and Kumar Mangalam Birla, he promised to continue with reforms.
The prime minister said the government was considering measures, including legislative and administrative, to tackle corruption and improve transparency. He asserted the government was committed to fight corruption and action needed to be taken against ''powerful'' individuals.
Singh said the faith of the public needs to be restored by addressing issues that had led people to form a perception that there was a deficit in governance and ethical conduct in public life. ''The government is committed to improving the quality of governance and enhancing transparency, probity and integrity in public life,'' he said. ''We have already taken action against ... entrenched individuals. Systems will be put in place to prevent recurrence of incidences of corruption and malfeasance.''
The prime minister's remarks assume significance in the wake of an open letter written by prominent personalities, including former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan, Wipro chairman Azim Premji, and HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh expressing concern over a series of scams that they said pointed towards governance deficit. The letter was written a couple of months ago following the corruption cases surrounding the 2G spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games.
