This refers to the editorial, “legacy worth retaining” (May 22). Outgoing Comptroller and Auditor-General of India Vinod Rai was targeted not only by the Congress but also by sympathetic media commentators for ‘exceeding’ his brief in auditing the accounts of the Congress-led UPA Government.
The Supreme Court set aside all such criticism and stressed that the CAG is not the Government's munim. The Government is the trustee and the CAG is a constitutional watchdog assigned with the job of examining the utilisation and allocation of national resources by the trustee and reporting the misuse thereof. Mr Rai deserves credit for exposing the UPA's mega scams, and upholding the dignity of CAG the same way that former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan did to the Election Commission — exerting the powers vested by the Constitution and cleansing electoral politics.
Mr Seshan's legacy continued even when the annoyed Government made the EC a multi-member body. Now the regime wants to make the CAG multi-member too. By showing that the CAG is not just an auditor, Mr Rai has become a role model and his successors will deviate from his legacy only at the cost of their own credibility.