One of the biggest achievements of the first session of the eight Delhi assembly has been the beginning of the tabling of the reports of the Comptroller and Accountant General of India (CAG), which had been held up for the past 10 years. The tabled report has created a storm on the alleged corrupt practices indulged into by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
While there have been discussions on the media on the findings of the report and also exchange of allegations between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and also the Congress, the question is why these reports are of such importance to invite such attention. It’s also important to recall here that the AAP had rolled out its political agenda in the initial years on anti-corruption platform highlighting the findings of the then CAG reports.
That agitation did bring down the Manmohan Singh government at the centre and its repercussions were felt across the country by all the state Congress governments including the one led by Sheila Dikshit in Delhi. So the findings of these reports should be considered to be one of the contributing factors in strengthening our democracy.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) strengthens the roots of Indian democracy by ensuring transparency, accountability, and financial integrity in government operations. The CAG audits government expenditures and revenue collection, which helps hold the government accountable for how it spends public funds, preventing misuse of taxpayer money.
By auditing government finances, the CAG ensures that the executive branch aligns its financial activities with the legislative intentions. This upholds the democratic principle of maintaining a balance of power between different branches of government. By withholding the tabling of the report in the House for the past 10 years, AAP government bypassed the control of legislature over executive and by extension those of the people over the elected government.
The CAG doesn’t just submit audit findings but also makes recommendations to help identify inefficiencies and discrepancies in government operations. This encourages the government to streamline its processes and adhere to financial discipline, leading to more effective and efficient governance.
While it’s alleged that the reports were not tabled with the intention to cover up corruption, but it’s for certain that in the absence of these reports the governance of Delhi never got evaluated.
The claims of ‘good governance’ made by Arvind Kejriwal were never checked against the findings of the CAG.
Incidentally, the AAP, which tried to delay the tabling of the report during the current session taking refuge in the alleged disrespect of Baba Sahab Ambedkar’s portrait, should be told that CAG was made an important cog in the wheels of governance by the man in the blue-suit.
Ambedkar was a trained economist. He held a Doctorate of Science degree from London School of Economics and a PhD, also in economics from University of Columbia. In drafting of the Constitution, he made elaborate provisions of the financial control over the government through the instruments of legislative institutions like the PAC (Public Accounts Committee).
PAC is a committee of the legislatures with proportionate representation of the treasury and opposition benches on it. The CAG reports table in the house is sent to the PAC for deliberations. It’s mandatory for the government officials summoned by the PAC to make appearance and depositions on the issues raised before it. In the end, the PAC gives its finding on the CAG reports and how much adherence was made by the government to it.
The government is bound to implement the PAC’s findings failing which it would invite the contempt of the House. Arvind Kejriwal demolished and destroyed these legislative institutions and provisions, which ironically were envisioned in the Constitution by Ambedkar. The AAP leadership must realise that it can’t eat the cake and have it too.
Sidharth Mishra
Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice