Rashida Bakait
MUMBAI: Deeply anguished over the recent Tehelka exposure of corruption in
high places, a concerned citizen has now come forward with a site www.corruptionfreezone.org,
where those feeling strongly against this trend, can pledge against accepting or
offering bribes.
And the man behind it, Amit Malik, says the site has been in place with the
objective of bringing people together on a common platform in the form of a
`public pledge' against this society’s menace. The site has been set up
without any funding and does not have any commercial objectives.
As a first step, Malik has enlisted the help of industrialists, celebrities,
government officials and members of the public. Out of the 90 industrialists he
has approached, only 15 CEOs have decided to take pledge against corruption, he
said. Though the numbers may not be phenomenal, he is optimistic of amassing at
least 200 people for his ‘mission,’ through the Internet, word of mouth and
the media.
Malik will also focus on NRIs (non-resident Indians) as he claims to have
received scores of letters from NRIs complaining of their plight at the hands of
corrupt government officials. He expects the support of ten millions NRIs and to
this end, he would promote the concept by offering free email address with the
domain name of corruptionfreezone.com.
The effort would ultimately consummate in the formation of a strong public
opinion that will lead to the formulation of adequate laws to curb corrupt
practices in government offices, he said.