नोटबंदी और राफेल पर सीएजी अब तक चुप क्यों ! पूर्व नौकरशाहों ने लिखा खुला खत

सीएजी के देश के पूर्व नौकरशाहों द्वारा अंग्रेजी में लिखा गया खुला खत

We are a groupof former civil servants of the All India and Central Services, who have workedfor decades with the Central and State Governments during our careers. We wishto make it clear that, as a group, we have no affiliation with any politicalparty but believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to theConstitution of India. We are committed to protecting, preserving and promotingthe independence and integrity of the various Constitutional and statutoryinstitutions in India.

During the debates in theConstituent Assembly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had described the Comptroller andAuditor General (CAG) as the most important functionary in the Constitution,more important than even the Judiciary. Rightly so, because the CAG functions asa watchdog of the public purse, and it is his duty to ensure that everyfinancial transaction is as per rule, sanction, provision and propriety, andguided by the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Articles 148– 151 of the Constitution of India read with the CAG’s (Duties, Powers andConditions of Service) Act, 1971, ensure his complete independence from theExecutive.

We wish to bring to theCAG’s notice our concern about what seems to be unconscionable and unwarranteddelay in bringing out the audit reports on Demonetisation (November 2016) andthe Rafale deal (April 2015). A news item in “The Hindu” dated March 3, 2017,titled “CAG to undertake audit of demonetisation fallout” quoted the previousCAG as saying that the CAG was well within its rights to seek audit of thefiscal impact of demonetisation, especially its impact on tax revenues. He hadpointed out that the audit would also cover the expenditure on printing ofnotes, RBI’s dividend to the Consolidated Fund of India, the huge amount ofdata generated by banks, and the effectiveness of the follow-up action taken bythe Income Tax Department in identifying potential tax evaders and pursuingaction against them, and so on. It is more than 20 months since the previousCAG made the above statement but there is no sight of the promised audit reporton Demonetisation.

Equally conspicuous is thedelay in presenting the CAG’s audit report on the Rafale deal, even though 42months have elapsed since the deal was announced in April 2015. A news item inthe “Times of India” dated July 24, 2018 titled “Rs.59000 crore Rafale deal:CAG’s audit report misses deadline” stated that the report was still in thedraft stage and “may be finalised not before the Winter session in December”.Another news item in “The Indian Express” dated September 19, 2018 titled“Rafale deal: Congress delegation meets CAG, demands report on‘irregularities’” stated that the CAG had assured the delegation that he was“already examining all aspects of the deal”. But another news item published in“Business Today” dated 23.9.2018 titled “No question of scrapping Rafale deal,will wait for CAG report, says Arun Jaitley” quoted the Finance Minister assaying that it was for the CAG to examine whether the planes were bought at ahigher price or not and that “all these facts and figures will be placed beforeCAG for consideration”. It would appear from his statement that as late asSeptember 2018, the related files were yet to be scrutinised by the CAG. Theprecise stage of the audit is therefore unclear.

The CAG’s audit reports onthe 2G scam, Coal scam, Adarsh scam, Commonwealth Games scam, etc., whichinfluenced public perception of the then government’s actions, had invitedappreciation from various quarters. But an impression is gaining ground thatthe CAG is deliberately delaying its audit reports on Demonetisation and theRafale deal till after the May 2019 elections so as not to embarrass thepresent government. The CAG’s failure to present the audit reports on Demonetisationand the Rafale deal in time may be seen as a partisan action and may create acrisis of credibility for this important institution. Due to the cacophony ofclaims and counterclaims, accusations and mudslinging in the media andelsewhere, the citizens do not know what the reality is. We believe thatcitizens have a right to insist upon the timely submission of audit reports bythe CAG so that they can make an informed choice while voting.

In the past, the CAG hasbeen criticised for nit-picking and focusing on trivial issues on the one hand,and for audit over-reach on the other. But there was never any occasion toaccuse the CAG of being influenced by the Government of India or having toremind it about the timely performance of its Constitutional duties. While weare confident that the CAG will continue the tradition set by the pastincumbents of this office, we urge it to complete the audit of bothDemonetisation and the Rafale deal and submit the audit reports without anyfurther delay so that they can be tabled by the Government of India in theWinter session of Parliament in December 2018.