Opinion CAG: India’s adjustment bureau

If the CAG had chosen a zero discount rate for all three reports,then there would be some doubt about what they were trying to achieve. And the benefit of the doubt by most,and especially PLU+s,is always given to champions against the government,the champions of truth,justice and the Indian way. So the CAG would have an excuse for not undertaking the most elemental of calculations — we didn’t know,we don’t have the expertise,or that it is a minor technical objection,so why aren’t you looking at the big picture.

And the big picture is the fight against corruption,fight against a big brother government and fight against crony capitalism. In my view,all of these fights are extremely worthy fights,and battles I fully subscribe to. The way this government has handled issues related to the internet,the way state governments have handled cartoons and criticisms,all of this suggests that big brother behaviour a la our neighbours in China needs to be fought. I have some problems with the fight against crony capitalism; the fight is too narrow. The CAG’s narrowness was revealed by the fact that strangely,and contrary to the draft report,the final report did not include any losses to the larger,much larger,public coal sector. This is a new definition of corruption and cronyism. If the public sector does it,it is okay. Why? Is the public sector less susceptible to cronyism,even though it is easier for the public sector to be in bed with corrupt politicians? Is the public sector less corrupt,and if so,what is the evidence,especially since most of the evidence (for example,Air India,Ashoka hotel) points in the opposite direction? And who makes the rules for crony capitalism to flourish? The public sector government — so shouldn’t we be talking about crony socialism rather than reflexively shouting crony capitalism? Unless we mean crony socialism when we say crony capitalism,in which case we should use the correct term.

Now to the big picture fight against corruption. According to the PLU+s,if it were not for the vastly exaggerated claims (read calculations which the CAG knows are dishonest),then the fight against corruption would not succeed. Interestingly,the BJP has made the same outlandish claim. To reiterate,the BJP and PLU+s both believe that the CAG can be excused for lies because there is a bigger “lie” to be nailed — and that the CAG lie is necessary for the worthy fight against corruption and crony socialism.

Let us delve a bit deeper into the morality of this view. Assume for a moment that I believe that Manmohan Singh has been terrible for India and that his removal can only bring progress to the rich and joy to the poor of India. Does that mean that I can spread blatant lies about the PM? I hope you say,“of course not”. Ends don’t justify the means. And after all,the reason we have a democracy is because we don’t want to be dictatorial; I may not be right in my views and maybe Manmohan Singh’s removal wouldn’t be so good for the country. I may believe his removal is good,but I cannot be sure,not even reasonably sure. Which makes it doubly abhorrent that I spread lies believing that I know the truth.

The BJP,by stopping Parliament from functioning,stooped lower to conquer than most democrats. That the PLU+s would excuse,nay support,such behaviour makes one question the nature of their liberalness. The PLU+s should also be aware of the fact that by supporting the CAG’s egregious lies,they are acting no differently than the Tea Party/ birther movement in the US. Identical to excusers of the CAG’s exaggerated claims,the birthers believe that US President Barack Obama was not good for the US. They had a legal basis for ousting him if they could prove that Obama was not born in the US (the US constitution requires that to be president,the citizen must have been born on US soil). As widely believed by the non-birthers,and as it turned out,Obama was born on US soil and the birther movement had no case. The question remains — were the birthers morally justified in spreading a lie in order to achieve,from their narrow vantage point,a greater truth?

A similar case of truth adjustment pertains to those,including my friends,who believe that if it is “good”,it must be true.

The writer is chairman of Oxus Investments,an emerging market advisory firm. Visit thirdpartyofindia.wordpress.com for an open forum on India’s politics