Lobbying cannot be an act of legitimacy Lobbying shouldn't be legalised in the country as it would be legalising an illegal enterprise. Individuals play the role of a middleman on behalf of clients to get work done quickly, most of the time violating rules and not going through the normal channels. They do so by offering monetary benefit to those who are entrusted with doing the job on behalf of the government, whether at the Centre or state level. It is an absolute malpractice tantamount to violation of the law and bending of rules in exchange for monetary benefits. This is generally done by the corporate houses to win contracts, outstripping competitors and crossing the barriers of normal judicious process of transparent governance. We have seen a number of cases in the last few decades where nationalised banks had opened their chests to finance illegal speculative transactions in the stock market. There were middlemen acting for brokers who benefitted illegally using their connections with higher-ups in the bank. There have been occasions when in a bid to win contracts, the tendering process was sought to be manipulated in connivance with the authorities concerned. The middlemen utilise their connections to benefit the corporates. This lobbying and the role of middlemen have, in recent times, acquired more importance due to economic liberalisation. Everybody knows there was a middleman in the Bofors payoff case. Middlemen have played havoc in many defence deals. In the Harshad Mehta scandal, too, it is the middleman who arranged for the loan using dubious papers. Therefore, lobbying cannot be an act of legitimacy. The middleman plays the game in order to give unusual benefits to the clients. Economic liberalisation has opened the doors for a heavy influx of middlemen in the corridors of power. There can be no justification for legalising this practice. If prostitution cannot be legalised, nor can lobbying. For, lobbying is a kind of economic prostitution where a lobbyist sells his connections within society in exchange for money. Gurudas Dasgupta
Member, Lok Sabha & CPI leader