Eye of the storm: Corporate lobbyist Niira Radia

According to the Oxford dictionary, the word “lobby” means “a group of people seeking to influence legislators on a particular issue.” Going by that definition, lobbying is probably as old as democracy itself. But in India the word “lobbying” has suddenly acquired a whole new dimension after the disclosure of the recorded phone conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. If industrial houses are employing lobbyists to try and influence government policies and appointments for their own advantage, some say that it is about time the profession was regulated and brought under the purview of a law.

Lobbying is not illegal in India. “Lobbying is an acceptable practice worldwide. It has become a ‘dirty’ word in the light of recent events only because boundaries seem to have been transgressed in terms of using not so above-the-board means to influence policymaking,” says Dilip Cherian, consulting partner, Perfect Relations, the Delhi-based public relations company.

So do we need a law on lobbying? The government seems to think so. In fact, the Union corporate affairs minister, Salman Khurshid, said recently that his ministry is in talks with other departments of the government on the issue of “regularising” lobbying. The Planning Commission of India has also set up an expert committee to look into the issue of lobbying.

But though some hope that a law will bring in much needed transparency in lobbying, others say that the government need not take a hurried decision on this under pressure.

“There is no doubt that we need a law on lobbying, but in my opinion this is not the right time. Let the dust on the Niira Radia case settle and then we can discuss the contours of a law,” says Gopal Jain, a Supreme Court advocate.

Agrees Cherian, “Ill-thought out rules will only drive the practice underground and lead to the emergence of a new lot of non-regulated players.”

Sharif Rangnekar, president, Public Relations Consultants Association of India, believes that there is nothing wrong with lobbying as long as it doesn’t favour a few. “Lobbying is a form of advocacy and is essential to influence, if not create, debates on public policy. The problem lies where lobbying favours a few and does not look into the larger interests of the people and the nation,” he says. In India, most lobbyists are former government servants, public relations professionals, lawyers, think tanks, corporate affairs executives and former journalists.

Right now the only law that has some relevance to lobbying is Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which makes it illegal for a “public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official Act”.

In point of fact, very few countries in the world have laws on lobbying. The United States, Canada and Germany do have some form of law. But as Rangnekar points out, “These are primarily disclosure-focused laws where contacts with government officials, including legislatures, have to be recorded within a stipulated time. Failure to do so leads to hefty fines.”

It is the US law, Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), which was passed in 1995 and strengthened further in 2009, which is being touted as the one that India could follow. LDA makes it mandatory for any lobbyist, who gets in touch with a government official with the intention of influencing a policy, to register with the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House of Representatives (both US legislative bodies) within a stipulated time. Besides, lobbyists are also required to file their financial activity reports. These reports help the public to know the lobbyist’s clients and other details.

Says Mark Carl Rom, associate professor, Government and Public Policy, Georgetown Public Policy Institute at the Georgetown University, US. “The LDA and other reforms have largely succeeded in that the worst abuses (direct quid pro quo deals) have become much more risky.”

According to Rom, before the LDA was passed, lobbying was less transparent and involved many “soft bribes”, such as gifts, tickets, dinners and vacations that were given to lawmakers to curry favour with them.

Still, lobbying continues to be a very big business in the US, running into billions of dollars. Experts say that despite several restrictions, lobbyists managed to have a huge influence on the final outcome of the new health care law in the US early this year. “Thousands of lobbyists were involved in building a huge hysteria against the law, and the US government had to make several changes in the law just because of the frenzy generated by the lobbyists through the senators and the congressmen,” says Amalendu Pal, chief executive of the Delhi-based Partners in Change, a body that helps companies research and implement corporate social responsibility projects.

As for a law on lobbyists in India, Jain, who has studied the US law, says that it may not be the perfect template for our country. “What India needs is a law that recognises the local issues and limitations. I am not in favour of aping the LDA as the US is a mature democracy where it is not as easy to subvert the systems as it is in our country,” says Jain.

As for the lobbyist brigade, it is not officially opposed to any new law, but it does voice some reservations. “Lobbying does not exist in isolation. So any regulation must equally regulate government servants, politicians, media and other bodies on ethics and standards and make them as open to punishment as lobbyists if they cross the line,” says Rangnekar.

Meanwhile, until the government makes up its mind on a law on lobbying, self-regulation may be the way forward. “Self-regulation is the best quick answer. There is talk of getting companies to voluntarily disclose their lobbying activities. But all this works only where lobbying is recognised as a legitimate part of the democratic process,” says Cherian.

The problem for lobbyists is that in the wake of the disclosure of the Radia tapes, the entire profession looks a bit dubious in the public mind. Perhaps a law — which will strictly regulate lobbying — will help change that perception.