‘CSR, a sham’
Arvind Kejriwal and Jeroninio Almeida, working for the welfare of the society, win over students to their beliefs

The man behind the Right to Information (RTI) Act and Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal left the audience spellbound with his infectious confidence, faith in self and a genuine urge to work for the society during the Tycoon 2008 Leadership Summit. Accompanying him on the panel was Jeroninio Almeida or Jerry, who is in the vanguard of citizen social responsibility as against corporate social responsibility. Achiever in the true sense of the term, Kejriwal, an IIT Kharagpur student who worked as an income tax commissioner earlier, inspired the participants to stand up for their rights and ask for accountability from the government. Jerry too infused optimism among those present at the summit.

Kejriwal’s effort in making the common man from a persona non grata to someone significant in the eyes of government is an inspiration for one and all. RTI was passed as a law by the Parliament in 2005. However, its inception came after a Supreme Court judgment in 1976 where the apex court said that under article 19(1) of the Constitution, we have freedom of speech and expression and one cannot speak unless one has the information. So, right to information is embedded within the freedom of speech and expression.

A true leader inspires his followers to take up challenges in life. Kejriwal said since the law came into being thousands of people have filed RTI and there were innumerable success stories. In an interactive session, Kejriwal was left shell shocked when nearly all the participants raised their hands when he asked, “How many of you have paid bribes?” He said RTI had the power to curb corruption if used properly by the citizens. Under the law, officials have to answer your RTI application within 30 days or else their salary starts getting deducted at the rate of Rs 250 per day.

Under the law, you can:
1. Ask for any government information.
2. Ask for inspection of any government document.
3. Ask for photo copies of government document.
4. Ask for inspection of any government work.

“The fourth clause is not present in too many countries and moreover the phrase ‘government work’ is not defined so it can be used very creatively. For instance, if a road is being constructed, you can actually file an RTI, saying you want to inspect the road and the government will have to send an officer and they will have to allow you to inspect,” said Kejriwal.

Lauding his efforts, Jerry, who has replaced a corporate cap with a social one, said, “If citizens start blowing whistles, we can make a difference.”

Jerry, founder and chief volunteer of ICongo, a confederation of NGOs, came out strongly against corporate social responsibility, calling it a sham.

“I think CSR (corporate social responsibility) is a sham because corporates talk about social responsibility and development of small communities somewhere, when they are harming some other community elsewhere. I think citizen social responsibility is the answer, for no government, corporate, media, NGO or any other sector can be responsible until the people are responsible. So that’s what we started working on, for we felt that the citizens need to be responsible,” said Jerry.

He called for an urgent need to clean up the 1.6 million NGO sector. He said we can right every wrong if we are together and it’s better to light the candle than to curse darkness. Running an organisation which believes in working for the society not by asking for money but by involving people, Jerry inspires those who do not want to follow the cliché.

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