Lawyer-author Berjis Desai on donating Rs 1-cr corpus that hopefully ushers in an era of harmony for the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, where strife is rife
Berjis Desai
Berjis Desai, lawyer-author, who has two books to his credit, Oh Those Parsis and Towers of Silence has donated a R1 crore election corpus to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), to ensure that the contentious trusteeship elections, the run-up of which has set new records in tumult, with a trustee even going on a hunger strike to press for elections, are held via machines and not ballot paper.
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Excerpts from the interview.
You will pay a sum of Rs 1 crore to the BPP for the forthcoming elections?
Desai: That is correct. This money is to be used for elections to seven seats for the trusteeship to the BPP. I will not be standing for elections for trusteeship.
When will these elections, delayed because of COVID and then controversy, be held? That is the million dollar question for the community?
Desai: They should be held in May this year, I think. There is a final hearing of the petition slated for February 22. We must appreciate the Division Bench in the Bombay High Court of Justice S Kathawalla and Justice M Jadhav giving time to the community to hear the petition expeditiously.
What will this money, a very substantial sum, be specifically used for?
Desai: The elections must be conducted through EVM rather than ballot paper. There is a cost difference between both, EVMs, which are more expensive and ballot papers which are less expensive. The money can be used to cover the cost differential so that the elections are held via EVMs.
Is this your personal money?
Desai: Yes, this is my personal money which I will pay for the conduct of the elections via EVM. It is to be used as a corpus fund, which will be used for these elections and the forthcoming polls too, for the community. Rather than pay the difference every time, it makes more sense to have a one-time corpus.
The BPP, which is such a large landholder does not have the funds to hold an election via EVM?
Desai: The Punchayet is the second largest landlord in Mumbai after the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT). Yet, it is cash strapped, there are losses and there is no cash flow.
That’s a huge sum to donate as corpus considering it’s your personal wealth.
Desai: It is important that we have a free and fair elections through EVMs. When polls across the world are conducted via EVMs, one cannot be regressive and say we want to use ballot paper. This is to ensure that the Punchayet does not wriggle out of using EVMs.
This is a donation for the good of the community?
Desai: You could call it that. Look at the larger picture. A fair election means that there is integrity and one day we will have a harmonious Board of Trustees that will bring about reform where need be. Internal bickering right now, is at the root of several problems, including the cash crunch. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. The good part though, is that the community is becoming conscious and this can only augur well for the future.
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