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Journalism of Courage
Some things are going on. The Public Accounts Committee is one of the most powerful of Parliaments regular,statutory bodies. Constitutionally,the government can only spend money that Parliament sanctions. And Parliament has the right to scrutinise how that moneys spent. That is what,using the resources of the Comptroller and Auditor General,the committee intends to do in its investigation of the allocation of licences for the 2G spectrum. Notwithstanding all the noisy disruption that completely derailed the last session of Parliament,the PAC led by BJP veteran and former party president Murli Manohar Joshi has moved firmly ahead with its investigation. On Monday,the current CAG,Vinod Rai,appeared before the committee to brief them about the CAG report that,with its upper-end estimate of a Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss to the exchequer,initiated this particular phase of outrage about the 2G licensing process.The last session of Parliament was disrupted by a firestorm over which instrument to choose to investigate 2G licensing. The JPC-versus-PAC firestorm has thrown up enough smoke to obscure the very real questions that need answering. In a creditable effort to try and remove itself from the almost either-or JPC/PAC deadlock,the PAC has chosen to move ahead,and proceed with what it,regardless of whether or not theres a JPC,is supposed to: examine and oversee the governments accounts. As these columns have previously pointed out,the onus is on the government,and the prime minister,to reach out to the opposition to ensure that any investigative process is seen to be fair,transparent,and importantly allows sufficient participatory space to the opposition. The prime minister has written to Joshi,arguing that although no past PM has appeared before a PAC he is willing to do so. Joshi,in turn,says that they will take a careful look at the letter. It is gratifying that a senior opposition leader,undistracted by the alarums and excursions of the recent session,sees his duty so clear. It is too early to sense whether this rapport will help break the deadlock,or at the least help both government and opposition arrive at a point where they resume a more cordial to-and-fro. Nonetheless,at least one of the most powerful bodies of Parliament has extricated itself from the political tug-o-war.
