Tricky situations demand intelligent solutions. The country, however, has been treated to some desperate innuendos, bordering on utter disregard for established constitutional institutions. The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come under attack from the ruling class in New Delhi in the wake of the 2G auction fiasco. “Where are those Rs.1.76 lakh crore?’’ demanded Kapil Sibal, the Telecom Minister. Put on the mat by the CAG for causing huge loss to the exchequer in the 2G spectrum auction in 2008, the going turned messier for the UPA Government when the recent auction elicited disappointing response. Instead of looking at ‘righting’ the situation, the blame is sought to be put on “sensationalism” by CAG and the media! “The hen that laid the golden egg has been destroyed,” Sibal went on to add. Is the “auction flop” being used as an excuse to condone the past wrong-doings in the telecom field? Much water has flown under the bridge since the halcyon days when telecom was a fascination for all kinds of investors. Nevertheless, the recent 2G auction flop show and the avoidable “outbursts” of the minister in its wake induce an element of doubt in everybody’s mind. Is there a method to the ‘flop show’?
Like CAG, the Reserve Bank of India, too, has come under intense pressure. When the apex bank, much to the chagrin of the fiscal mandarins, did not reduce the policy rate, the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, “The government will walk alone”. By saying so, he sort of revealed his upset mind. There have been not-so-subtle suggestions to the Governor to rethink on the RBI stand on the policy rate. The recent spate of avoidable public interludes between the Government and the heads of Constitution-backed institutions show up the entire system somewhat negatively. This is not doing well either to the country, in general, or to the economy, in particular. What is required is co-operative co-existence and not demonstration of one-upmanship.
jagannathan.kt@thehindu.co.in
