By KIRAN DEEP
Once termed harmless accountants responsible only for auditing, former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai had beyond doubt proved what CAG can do to expose the wrongdoings in the Central government. The CAG report has exposed some of the biggest scams that defamed the UPA government and the country. The 2G scam caused a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and the coal scam was responsible for a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to the exchequer. The CAG report was sharply criticised when it was tabled in the Parliament.
Taking his fearless act of exposing the ill practices of the government further, Rai has got his experiences published “Not Just an Accountant”. In this soon-to-be released book, Rai has printed new evidence directly accusing former PM Dr Manmohan Singh of being fully aware of issues in 2G and coal allocations during his tenure. However, Rai says, Dr Manmohan Singh did nothing to stop it, presumably because his hands were tied by the strings of coalition politics. He also accused MPs of pressuring him to omit former PM names from the reference in the report.
I have no doubt about former PM’s honesty, but the big question baffling me is why did he not resign as PMduring UPA-II when he was aware of all these wrongdoings in his cabinet? Why did he not speak up against the politicians behind the scams? Why did he remain a silent spectator? Is it only compulsions of coalition politics or something else? Having enjoyed all the benefits of being the head of the state, the former PM must answer all these questions. And, an honest answer at that.
The former PM has not only kept quiet about Rai’s allegations, but also those of his own media advisor Sanjay Baru (Accidental Prime Minister) and former secretary, Ministry of Coal, PC Parekh (Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and other Truths). While Baru laid bare some facts about the way the PM functioned during the UPA-II, the coal secretary went on to allege that there was coal mafia inside the UPA government. Not only this, former Minister of External Affairs K Natwar Singh alleged that former PM did not respond to the wrongdoings in the government in his autobiography “One Life is Not Enough” released after the Lok Sabha elections results.
Although Daman Singh, former PM Manmohan Singh’s daughter, has also written a book “Strictly Personal”, she has chosen to only highlight the struggle of Manmohan Singh from his school days, hard work, intellect, scholarship for higher studies at Cambridge University and Oxford, his achievements as the RBI Governor, Finance Minister and then as the Prime Minister. She has refrained from making any references to the allegations leveled against PM in connection with any of the scams that the UPA-II has been accused of. I feel the credit for exposing this level of corruption also goes to the Supreme Court and media – the two other organs of the system.
I was eagerly waiting for the book and managed to get hold of “Not Just an Accountant” before its official release, as many book stores across the country have got it delivered in advance. In his 267-pager, Rai dedicates 24 pages to the 2G scam and concludes the chapter by saying: “This is a story that reflects lack of probity. This is a story of the total bankruptcy of any pretence of morality. This is a story of the misguided belief that the underlying objective of all action is to remain in power and keep a coalition secure – the nation and its people be damned. Hence, this is a story worth narrating”.
As far as the scathing attack on Rai by Congress politicians, in terming CAG reports as baseless and bundle of lies, goes, the apex court has rightly come to the rescue of this constitutional authority. In its observation, while dismissing a petition challenging CAG reports on 2G spectrum, Coalgate, etc, a Bench of the Supreme Court said: “CAG is not a munimji or an accountant or something like that. He is a constitutional authority who can examine the revenue allocation and matters relating to the economy. CAG is the principal auditor whose function is to go into the economy, effectiveness and efficiency of the use of resources by the government. If the CAG won’t, then who else will do it”.
In a democratic system, nobody is above law be it the Prime Minster, Members of Parliament, senior functionaries of government or big industrialists. The functioning of the government has to be transparent and there has to be a strong check on the crony capitalists preventing them to loot the natural resources and getting contracts by adopting corrupt practices. All that the country needs from Dr Manmohan Singh is an honest answer and not just “I did my duty” as he said at his daughter’s book launch in Delhi.
I could not find anything better than lines from the foreward to “Not Just An Accountant” written by Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, former President of India, “I find that in countries across the globe, a new paradigm is emerging – that of transparency in functioning, not only within the government but also in private institutions and civil society, with morality and righteousness being fundamental principles. “Not Just An Accountant” draws attention to these principles and emphasises the importance of ethical governance in our country. This has to be the long term goal of all nations. Let us work to make India a great nation, with righteousness in the heart and the pursuit of excellence in our endeavours. All I can say is Amen to that!
This Opinion published in the newspaper Lokmarg with this link
http://lokmarg.com/for-manmohan-compulsions-of-coalition-politics-or-something-else/
No comments:
Post a Comment