V Narayansamy, the MoS in PMO with a reputation for spoutingbrilliant ideas, has come out with an absolute gem: convert the Comptroller andAuditor General of India (CAG) into a three-member body to make it more transparentand professionally more competent.
He hasn’t explained the transparency bit but it is obvious.He has been accusing CAG of “frequent draft report leaks”. If one Vindo Rai canleak a series of scams to have hit the nation (CWG, 2G, ISRO spectrum and coalblock allotments and so on), imagine what three Rais can do to transparency ingovernance!
As for the professional competence, Narayansamy can’t befaulted for saying that at least one member in CAG should have professionalaccounting qualifications, like chartered accountancy or its equivalent. Afterall, CAG is the official auditor of the government and needs a professionalhand. Rai is just a (retired) career bureaucrat.
(To be true to the episode, Narayansamy had said in aninterview to the news agency, PTI, that a proposal to make CAG a three-memberbody was under “active consideration” of the government. The proposal had comefrom former CAG VK Shunglu, who last probed into the CWG scam, in a letter tothe PM. It was Shunglu who had suggested that this would improve transparencyand professional competence and hence had suggested at least one member shouldhave professional accounting competence).
Narayansamy has since denied having said it (as PTI reportedsubsequently even while standing by its earlier story that Narayansamy hadindeed said so).
We have no reason to doubt. Maybe he said it not for CAG butsomething else. Say, for example, for PM.
Now, take a fresh look at the proposition and see the sheerbrilliance.
For the past three years, PM is getting hit repeatedly. Heis accused of being a “nikamma”, a “nincompoop” and worse. But take a carefullook. He is only an executive head with no ‘political’ power. That rests withUPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Similarly, since he has no political power he has nopolitical authority over the allies. So, when the 2G scam hit he honestlyblamed it on the “coalition compulsion”. After a court judgment made a distinction between the PM and the PMO, weknow how difficult it is to work as a PM.
He needs professional help.
So, how about a case for a three-member PM? One PM can actas an executive officer (to execute what may be a valid question but notrelevant here). The second PM should be a career politician to manage thepolitics of governance. The third should have experience in handling difficultregional satraps, existing or potential allies like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati,Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad.
Just do it and let’s see how that changes our fate.
What do you say, Mr Narayansamy?
in association with Governance Now
