In a move that could
spark off a major debate on 'attempts' to dilute the powers of the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) of India vis-a-vis the powers of Parliament and the
government, the two-day long conference of chairpersons of Public Accounts
Committees (PACs) recommended immediate amendments to the CAG Act of 1971 so
that the country's high-profile chief auditor be made accountable to the
legislature.
"The CAG of India
is not accountable today even for lapses and certain irregularities it commits in its audit report
itself," BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said in presence of chairman of Parliament's PAC, Prof
K V Thomas.
The two leaders were
talking to media after two-day conference of chairpersons of Public Accounts
Committees of parliament and state legislatures. What’s the entire game all
about? Who really wants to control CAG?
The reference about CAG-PAC equations did not come out of the blue. In fact on the inaugural address, none other than the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had laid down certain roadmap when she had said, discussions could happen on "complimentary and supplementary" role of the two institutions.
Just a few years back, we had a completely different
story. The CAG was supposed to be most credible institution in the country and
its findings RS 1.76 lakh crore loss due to scam in 2G scam and later Rs 1.86
lakh crore coal block allocation irregularities were taken as Gospel’s truth!
The backgrounder of course is, that the fungus of
corruption had “eaten into all spheres of life” in India and the country was
made to believe it’s the CAG which will tame the wrong doers. Coincidentally,
the Congress fell prey to the machinations!
The general belief was that the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India is the new institute which would bite the slice of the cake and
display certain neo-activism. The auditor’s report on Commonwealth Games and
others for the first time pointed fingers squarely at the PMO, ironically then
run by economist-PM who was also credited for so called ‘honesty’.
Now the game seemed to have changed!
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| Blogger in Parliament corridors |
"During 15th Lok
Sabha a suggestion was made by the then PAC that the CAG should be part of
legislature
in U.K and
Australia," BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said adding the issue figured in the
two-day conference convened by Lok Sabha. The conference of chairpersons of
PACs was held for the first time after 14 years.
So was it just a
formality or a real meeting of minds – where the PAC chiefs sought to give unto
themselves more power, more teeth and make governments more accountable to the
panel(s).
Prof Thomas said
nearly 20 points on issues of powers and jurisdictions of PACs figured during
the two-day deliberations and a sub-committee headed by Nishikant Dubey (BJP)
will study the suggestions and observations made in the meeting to make appropriate recommendations to the concerned authorities including the President, the Prime
Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The panel comprises of
other members like B Mahtab (BJD) and Bhubeneshwar Kalita (Congress).
"This panel will
examine all issues involved and likely to recommend amendments in the CAG Act
of 1971to bring the auditor under the jurisdiction of Parliament," Dubey
said.
The PAC headed by Dr
Murli Manohor Joshi in 15th Lok Sabha had recommended that the PAC be consulted
by the government before the appointment of the CAG.
"The need for complete independence of the CAG making it a part of PAC would add to the harmonious relations between CAG and the PAC," Dubey said adding the sub-committee will make its recommendations by the end of the financial year 2015-16.
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| Parliament's new power structure |
Asked whether such a
move would not dilute the autonomous powers of the CAG, an issue that had
figured aftermath CAG reports on spectrum allotment and coal blocks allocation
had rocked the UPA dispensation, Dubey replied in negative.
"Where is the
question of dilution of CAG's powers. The CAG will be only made accountable to
the legislature that is Parliament of India and not to any one individual
or the institution," Dubey said.
Prof Thomas said
during the two-day deliberations, PAC chairpersons from across the country
suggested among other things that the panel deliberations should be "open
to media except in sensitive cases".
"The PAC should
henceforth also take up examination of expenditures made for Public Private Partnership
projects and PAC take suo motu cognizance of issues and also audit the
functioning of NGOs," Thomas said.
The
Committee on Public Accounts, more popular as PAC, is a permanent body and is
constituted by Parliament each year for examination of accounts showing the
appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for expenditure of Government of
India. This PAC is
incidentally the oldest Parliamentary Committee and was first constituted in
1921. The Committee consists of 22
Members, 15 members from Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha.
The rule book
says, the Speaker is empowered to appoint the Chairman of PAC from amongst its
members; but the by convention the chairmanship of PAC is being given to the
principal opposition party.
Tail Piece:
Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi
nor some 'loud' TV anchors would be rated as the "most feared
Indian"! Left to former Lok Sabha Speaker, P A Sangma, the mild
mannered Congress MP, Prof K V Thomas should be called the 'most feared person'
in the country.
The chairman of the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) of Parliament is the "most feared person" in the
country, the former Lok Sabha Speaker Mr P A Sangma said and maintained that
the similar status and importance ought to be attached to the PAC chairpersons
at the state level.
"When I was Lok Sabha Speaker
during an interaction the then South African President Nelson Mandela told me
you (Speaker of Indian Parliament) is the most feared Indian....I had countered
him and said Sir, it's not me...but it is Dr Murli Manohor Joshi, who was then
PAC chairman," Sangma said addressing the valedictory session of the
two-day long conference of chairpersons
ends
Not really well versed with entire issue....but I also know this much that CAG reports are first tabled before Parliament, which means it is accountable to it. In fact, when CAG reports were creating problems for the UPA government, that too much was being leaked....there were questions about "whether there existed a thing called draft report of the CAG".....We usually report the CAG findings only after they are either tabled in Parliament or before the state Legislative assemblies. Therefore to say that CAG is not accountable to Parliament misses me....Is it the case that they want CAG to report to Parliament, which would then dilute its autonomous status?....May be, those in the know would better enlighten me.
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