Coimbatore Aug. 23: Fifth Pillar India, an NGO set up to fight corruption, has printed over 200,000 zero-denomination notes that resemble Indian currency and has begun distributing them around the country. It is asking people to give the notes to anyone demanding a bribe. Fifth Pillar will launch the %u201Czero rupee currency note%u201D campaign in Coimbatore on Saturday.
The NGO launched its 30-day-30-district campaign, called %u201CFreedom From Corruption%u201D, on August 4 in Chennai and will end it on September 9. It consulted leading lawyers in Chennai before printing the %u201Czero rupee note%u201D, which resembles a Rs 50 note in colour and is slightly bigger than a Rs 1,000 note. %u201CInstead of the usual %u2018I promise to pay the bearer a sum of x rupees%u2019 pledge on a currency note, the replica will carry the pledge %u2018I promise neither to accept nor give bribes,%u2019%u201D Fifth Pillar India president (operations) M. Vijayanand told this newspaper.
As the note is being distributed across the country, the pledge is printed in the respective State languages. %u201CThe notes are aimed at sending across the message that enough is enough and we are not willing to pay any more bribes,%u201D he said. A software professional from the city who founded the NGO in Chennai many years ago conceived the idea as he felt corruption was a big issue and the zero currency notes would drive home the message. He is currently working in the US and visits India now and then. The zero rupee note does
