Out of Tata Sons board, Vijay Singh says voting unprecedented in Tata Trusts

AFTER A GROUP within Tata Trusts reportedly blocked his reappointment as nominee director on the board of Tata Sons, Vijay Singh, a trustee and vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, said that putting any issue to vote was “unprecedented” within the organisation and went against the late Ratan Tata’s insistence on “consensus and unanimity” in decision-making.

- GEORGE MATHEW

Responding to queries, Singh said, “The idea of voting on any matter in Tata Trusts is unprecedented. Ratan Tata was very firm that there should always be consensus and unanimity on issues... and perhaps we are now in a different era.”

The vote, which was held recently, brought to light a simmering power struggle within the $180-billion Tata Group, with a bloc of four trustees in Tata Trusts led by M Pallonji Group Director Mehli Mistry reportedly opposing Singh’s reappointment to the group’s principal holding company.

The majority vote against Singh marked a rare and public sign of division within India’s most venerated corporate house. Tata Trusts collectively hold 66% of Tata Sons, making them the most powerful shareholder in the conglomerate.

ACCORDING TO SINGH, he did not attend the meeting in which the vote took place."Since I wasn't there, the question of my voting for or against anyone doesn't arise. As is common knowledge now, four trustees did vote against my continuance on the Tata Sons board for reasons that were apparently not spelt out," he said.