As allegations over corruption against some stalwarts in political arena fly thick and fast, newly appointed Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot today said his ministry will deal firmly against all irregularities and wrongdoings without any prejudice.

However, he maintained that he does not want to create a fear psychosis and will therefore encourage transparency in the system.

"I don't want to be someone who creates an atmosphere of suspicion or finger-pointing or allegations of creating mistrust. That's why I am reaching out to all stakeholders,” Pilot said after taking over the charge. BJP president Nitin Gadkari and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son in-law Robert Vadra are facing allegations of corruption. Recently, a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) official said registrars of companies will look into the allegations. 

 

Pilot also said his ministry would fast track all the pending policy decisions including the amendments to the Companies Bill, 2011 and the Competition Act on priority. 

 

The new minister of state (independent charge) of MCA said he would not hesitate to initiate talks with any political party to build a consensus to get these bills through.

“I want to take forward some of the positive reform agenda that are on the table. If there are delays, we will try to mitigate those time lag…if there is need for some consensus building which requires talks with any particular political party, especially the opposition party, I am more than happy to go more than half a way to ensure that the Bill gets through in Parliament," he said. 

He said a law or a bill is not for a political party, a Parliament or a government, it is for the betterment of the country.

The Cabinet recently approved amendments to the Companies Bill and the Competition Act. Both the proposals are expected to be tabled in Parliament during the winter session, slated to begin on November 22. The government would need support of other parties to pass the Bills, particularly in the Rajya Sabha.

Besides, the Competition Policy, which lays the basic frame work for the Competition Commission of India, is also pending before the Cabinet for some time.

Pilot also emphasized on the need to encourage domestic as well as foreign corporate investment through transparent regulatory frame work.

“We really want to make this ministry an enabling ministry that facilitates growth and investments to create job opportunities. We want to lead from the front in creating a framework that makes investments easy, that reduces the cumbersome nature of red-tapism and time lag that we have sometimes,” he said.

He added that issues of good corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are important and his ministry would make all attempts to bring every stakeholder on board on these issues. (Business Standard)